Vegeta On His Own
by Lavender the Drama Girl
Summary: Bulma dies giving birth to Bra, and Vegeta now has to take care of his two children by himself. VT bonding. CHAPTER 13 UP!
1. It Starts

*O.K., this is my first fic, so please review. Flames are welcomed. Tell me if I should continue on with this story otherwise I might go back to sulking in the dark corner of my house during my free time:-( Hope you enjoy the story, and once again, please review*  
  
Disclaimer-I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters, I'm just too lazy to come up with my own.  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter One: It Starts  
  
Trunks sat quietly in the waiting room, staring down at the floor. His best friend Goten had tried to get him to play checkers with him, or maybe to go to the gift shop, but Trunks didn't want to. He just had this horrible feeling that something was going to go wrong. Also with him in the waiting room were all of the Son family, along with Videl, who was currently engaged to Gohan, and then there were his grandparents. They were all there, anxiously waiting the arrival of the new member into his family.  
  
Vegeta glimpsed at the clock on the wall. He had been in here with her for over three hours, and with every minute Bulma was looking worse and worse. He looked down at his wife, her face was deathly pale and even thought the hand he was holding was cold and clammy, her short, blue hair was drenched with sweat. "This isn't right," he thought to himself, "she didn't have this much trouble with Trunks." Yet here he was, almost one whole month before the arrival date was supposed to be. He had been worrying for her during the past weeks, she had been so sluggish, and she had not appetite despite the fact that she was pregnant with a demi-saiyan, she seemed so.sick.  
  
More doctors and nurses were filing in as Bulma was shrieking in pain, and Vegeta started to feel overwhelmed with the same feeling that his son felt, that something was going to go horribly wrong.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like ions, a baby's shriek filled the air. "It's a girl," he heard the doctor say. At that instant Vegeta was overwhelmed with joy and pride, and a small smile swept across his face, once again he had helped bring a new being into the world. But That feeling was short lived as he felt the familiar ki next to him to start slipping away.  
  
He looked at her, she looked like shit. Her breathing was labored and it looked as if she barely had enough strength to keep her eyelids open.  
  
"Woman, are you okay?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Bulma?!"  
  
"Vegeta," she barely whispered, "Vegeta, I love you."  
  
"No Bulma, don't talk like that."  
  
"Vegeta, take care of Trunks and Bra for me, and tell them that I love them."  
  
"Bulma, you'll be okay, don't worry, you'll be fine, you're the mother of a beautiful girl now, and you have a strong, smart, young son. They need you.I need you." He held onto her hand as if his strength could keep her with him, but in his heart he knew it was too late. "I love you, Vegeta," the soft words had barely left her lips when her eyelids closed and her hand fell out of her husbands'.  
  
"Bulma," he choked as a single tear ran down his face.  
  
All the warriors in the waiting room had felt it, the familiar ki start to fade and eventually disappear. Goku and Gohan exchanged glances, only to confirm what they already knew.Bulma was dead. Goku looked down at the floor, Bulma had been his first friend ever. They had gone through so much together, their adventures had started with the magical dragonballs, but this time the dragonballs could not fix their situation. The death had been a natural one, she couldn't come back.  
  
Trunks had felt it too, but he was still too young to be sure of what had just happened. He got up slowly and started walking down the hall to the room, which he had seen his parents disappear into some time ago. The corridor seemed never ending. When he was half way there he stopped, as he saw his father exit from the room.  
  
Vegeta looked down the hall to see his son standing there. 'Shit,' he thought to himself, 'how am I going to tell him.' He walked towards the small purple haired boy, 'his eyes are exactly like hers were.' He took a sharp intake of breath. Trunks could tell there was something wrong with his father, and it was only after his father had come closer that he realized that his father was shaking. Vegeta looked down at him with his glossy eyes. Trunks looked back up at him, his blue eyes wide with worry, he had never seen his father like this.  
  
"Otosan?" he whispered.  
  
"You have a baby sister," replied Vegeta trying to hide the sorrow in his voice and force out a smile to make Trunks feel better. It didn't work. Trunks didn't move, his expression stayed the same.  
  
"Otosan?"  
  
Vegeta knelt down so that he was eye level with Trunks and put his hand on his shoulder. Trunks thought that this was strange because his father rarely showed this much affection. Vegeta took a deep breath, and looked strait into Trunks large blue eyes. 'So much like his mother's,' he thought again.  
  
"Trunks," he slowly whispered, "your mother was sick.and.well she used up all her strength delivering the baby, and so she had no energy left, and what I'm trying to tell you son.is that.your mother has died." He choked out the last word.  
  
Trunks' lip started to quiver and he threw himself into his father's chest and started to cry. The tears streaked down his face soaking Vegeta's shirt, and his sobs were muffled. Vegeta put his arms around his son, and held him as he cried. "It'll be okay, son, we'll get through this together." He whispered in his son's ear, but inside he really didn't know if they would.  
  
  
  
*o.k. now tell me if I should continue or if you think it's crap* 


	2. Lonliness

*Oh my Gosh, I actually got reviews, it makes me so happy:-) Thanks, and please review some more. I'll probably try to get a new chapter out in about the same time that it took to get out this chapter out. Hope you like this chapter, it's longer than the last and I proofread it better, too. Yes, I know Vegeta might be a little ooc, but hey give the guy a break, his wife just died.*  
  
*Vocabulary for this chapter:  
  
Otosan: Father Ojisan: Grandpa Obasan: Grandma  
  
Disclaimer: Why can't I own DBZ, I mean it's not like I'm going to screw it up like the GT creators did, but oh well. Oh, and I don't own the total gym either.  
  
  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Lonliness  
  
  
  
Vegeta found himself lying on the couch at home in a daze. It had all seemed unreal, like it was just a bad dream, and he would wake up to find his mate, still pregnant, sleeping next to him, and they would have a baby girl, and all grow up as one happy family, or as happy as you could get with their family. But, just like everything else in Vegeta's life, it was just a bad reality, he was doomed to live a cursed life.  
  
The events that had taken place after Vegeta told Trunks about Bulma's death had seemed unclear. He couldn't remember what the doctors had told him, what the others said. He didn't even remember coming back to the house. It was almost like it had never happened, but it did.  
  
Vegeta looked at the clock on the wall, it was 2 a.m. All the lights were out, and the house seemed eerily quiet. The T.V. across from where he lay was on. The sound was barely audible, as the man on the T.V. screen went on about how he should buy the new Total Gym. Vegeta stared absent mindedly at the screen for a few minutes before turning it off and cursing the stupid infomercial under his breath. He sat up and began to stare at the ceiling, thinking about what he was going to do now. It all happened so quickly, but why? Why did it have to happen to her? He had died twice in battle, both times being wished back. He put his life at stake everyday, he was so careless, too. Some days he wouldn't even care if he did lose his life. She always had valued her life. Why? Because of Trunks, because of her friends, because of her parents, because of her work, because of him.  
  
Vegeta's eyes started to water again. Would his eyes ever dry? His mind then slipped to the tiny little baby he had met today. Kami, was she beautiful. She was really small, though. She had been premature, and the doctors were telling him how there could be complications, but they weren't sure. He just wanted her to be all right. His mind drifted as he thought about her still at the hospital all alone in the nursery with a bunch of pathetic human offspring.  
  
THUD  
  
Vegeta jumped off the couch in surprise, and twisted around into his fighting position only to find his son staring up at him on his hands and knees on the floor.  
  
"Sorry," he whispered as he stood back up, "I tripped on my pants." Trunks now stood at the base of the dark stairs wearing his pajama pants he had just gotten last week. He had gone shopping with his mother when he saw them, and he thought they were so cool, that he begged his mother to get them for him, even if they were two sizes too big.  
  
Vegeta relaxed. "Why aren't you in bed?"  
  
Trunks looked down at the floor and started to rock on the outsides of his feet. "I couldn't sleep."  
  
Vegeta motioned for Trunks to come and sat back down on the couch. Trunks shuffled his feet and flopped down on the couch next to his father. He was still staring at his feet and Vegeta noticed how his cheeks were tear stained. He started to think how hard it must be for him. Here he was only 10 years old and he already lost his mother. Vegeta couldn't even remember his mother, and he had lost his father when he was only six. He remembered what it was like losing a parent, it had turned his heart cold, and if there was one thing that Vegeta wanted more than anything else, it was for his kids to not grow up like him. Growing up and until he came to Earth, he didn't care about anyone or anything, not even himself. What was life to him? It was disposable. And he had gotten a thrill every time he destroyed one, and that feeling would haunt him forever. He didn't want his son to be like that, too.  
  
"You okay?" he asked gently. Trunks just shook his head, still staring at his feet. They sat there for a while just staring strait ahead, not knowing what to say or how to comfort one another. Finally, it was Trunks who broke the silence.  
  
"Did she say anything?"  
  
"Huh?" Vegeta looked confused.  
  
"Before she died," he explained. "Did she say anything?"  
  
"She said she loved you."  
  
"Was she in any pain?" Trunks turned his head to look up at his father.  
  
Vegeta smiled at the question. "She was in labor, Trunks, of course she was in pain."  
  
"Oh," he turned back to face his feet. He thought for a moment then turned back to face Vegeta again. "What's her name?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"My sister. What's her name?"  
  
"I never told you?"  
  
Trunks shook his head. "No, I tried to ask you earlier, but it was like you weren't listening."  
  
Vegeta looked puzzeled. "Oh, sorry. Well her name is Bra." Trunks just nodded his head, and then went on to staring at his feet. He bit his lower lip and didn't say anything for a while, when finally he looked back up at Vegeta and the thing that he had wanted to ask all along finally rushed out.  
  
"OjiisanandObasansaythattheyaregoingtobetheonesthattakecareofme, Whatsthematterdontyoulovemeanymore?!"  
  
"Wow, slow down, Trunks. I had no idea anyone could talk that fast," he smirked.  
  
Trunks bit his lower lip again and then took a deep breath, and said what he had said before only much slower. "Ojisan and Obasan say that they are going to be the ones that take care of me, what's the matter, don't you love me anymore?" His eyes were wide and watery, and he gave his father a puppy dogface.  
  
Vegeta looked confused. "First of all, son, what are you talking about? Of course I'll take care of you. I am your father you know."  
  
"It's just that they said that they were going to take care of me and.."  
  
"Trunks, you probably just misunderstood," he replied.  
  
"So then you will take care of me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Bra, too."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Trunks smiled and gave Vegeta a hug. He just stayed there, with his arms wrapped around his father. It seemed that there, nothing could go wrong and the whole world seemed to be at peace. "Papa?" he asked still hugging Vegeta.  
  
"Yes, son?"  
  
"I miss mom." He tried to choke back a sob, but was unsuccessful, as the tears began to pour out of his eyes onto his father's shirt for the second time that day. Vegeta, however, joined him this time, and his tear slowly made their way down his dark face and into Trunks' soft, purple hair.  
  
They stayed like that until Trunks finally let his sleepiness over take him, and he passed out. Vegeta tried to get some sleep, too, but he wasn't lucky enough, and the peacefulness of sleep never came to him that night. So, instead he turned the T.V. back on to watch anything that could get his mind off of her, but every channel he turned to, there she was, smiling back at him the way she always did.  
  
  
  
  
  
*o.k. hope you liked that, please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter up in a couple of days* 


	3. The Mother's Love Lost

*O.k. kindas, here it is, my next installment. The last chapter centered more around Vegeta, but this chapter is going to center more around Trunks. It will probably keep flipping back and forth throughout the story. Please review, especially for this chapter. I really want feed back. Thank you for all those who have been reviewing, I love reading all of them, and it makes me feel good.*  
  
Vocab for Chapter 3:  
  
Okasan-mother Oneechan-little sister  
  
  
  
Disclaimer-Unfortunately, I have not, do not, or will never own DBZ, ...or maybe by some luck of the draw, Akira Toriyama, will love my fanfic sooooo much that he'll just hand me over the rights. (yeah right!)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The Mother's Love Lost  
  
  
  
  
  
"Trunks, sweetie, wake up."  
  
Trunks slowly opened his eyes to see his grandmother standing over him. "Trunks, why were you sleeping on the couch?" she asked him in her soft voice. Trunks looked around him and realized that he was on the couch, but couldn't see his father anywhere.  
  
"I was with Papa," he mumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Where is Otosan?" he asked wondering why he wasn't there.  
  
Mrs. Briefs just shrugged her shoulders. "Probably training, the bastard," she mumbled as she walked off into the kitchen to make breakfeast.  
  
  
  
The rest of the day, Trunks spent at home waiting for whenever his father would come home from wherever he was. His grandparents had started to make funeral arrangements, which just depressed him more. The Sons came over a little after lunch, and after that Krillin and his family came over along with Yamcha, Master Roshi, Oolong, and Puar.  
  
Goten and Marron were with Trunks in his room. Trunks was lying on his back on his bed, and Goten and Marron were sitting on the floor, and trying to get Trunks to do stuff with them.  
  
"I've got an idea," said Marron, "Let's all go to the park!"  
  
" Okasan used to always take me to the park," said Trunks in a monotone voice. The other two exchanged glances trying to think of things that they could do.  
  
"We could play games on your PS2!" exclaimed Goten.  
  
"Okasan gave that to me on my birthday."  
  
"We could run around yelling like chickens with our heads cut off just to annoy the adults." Goten suggested.  
  
"I don't want to do that," whined Marron.  
  
"Either do I. Besides I only did that to annoy Okasan," said Trunks continuing to stare up at the ceiling. Just then, Chi Chi walked in the door.  
  
"Dinner's ready for anyone who wants it," she announced. With that, Goten jumped up, yelling in excitement and went running down the stairs. Marron followed behind Goten. Trunks started to slowly get up from his bed when Chi Chi approached him. She sat down on his bed next to him. "You know, Trunks, that if you ever need someone to talk to, I will always be there. You're Goten's best friend and your mother was my best friend. I know this must be really hard for you, I mean this is even hard for me, because it was so sudden, but we have to depend on eachother to get through these hard times. O.K."  
  
Trunks nodded his head. "Good," she said and hugged him. "Now, do you want to come downstairs and eat some dinner?" Trunks nodded his head again, and they got up and went downstairs to where everyone was sitting around their huge table.  
  
Chi Chi and Mrs. Briefs brought out the food, and Goku, Goten, and Gohan started to chow down. However, they ate much slower this time and in silence. The silence at the dinner table seemed eerie because their meals together had always seemed full of cheeriness and laughter. Trunks had his elbow on the table and was leaning his head on his hand, and swirling the food on his plate around with his fork. Every once in a while he would take a bite of the peas or potatoes.  
  
Just when Trunks was thinking about where his dad had run off to, he heard the front door swing open. Everyone looked up from their meal to see Vegeta walk into the room. When he saw everyone he just nodded in acknowledgement.  
  
"Would you like some food, Vegeta?" Chi Chi asked.  
  
"No thanks," he replied. He walked over towards Trunks and pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. Right after he had sat down. Mrs. Briefs put her hands on her hips and yelled at him.  
  
"How could you run out and train all day right after your wife died like that, you're so uncompassionate and such a jerk sometimes, Vegeta, you should feel ashamed of yourself." Everyone around the table just stared at her in shock of what she had just said to Vegeta and half-expecting him to jump up and start beating her in rage.  
  
But he just gave her his cold glare. "I wasn't training." He replied through gritted teeth.  
  
"Well then where were you?" She asked him.  
  
"I was at the hospital with Bra." Everyone was taken aback. They had been so concerned with Bulma's death that they had completely forgotten that the Briefs also had a new member of the family.  
  
"Shouldn't you have brought her home then?" Mrs. Briefs asked, only this time with less accusation in her voice.  
  
"The doctors said that they want to keep her there until Tuesday."  
  
"Otosan?" Trunks asked. "Are you going to the hospital tomorrow, too?"  
  
"Yes," replied Vegeta, "why?"  
  
"Can I come with you and see oneechan?" Trunks looked up at his father and gave him his pouting face.  
  
"Of course you can, and I'll bet she's anxious to see you."  
  
  
  
The rest of the night everyone told Vegeta about the funeral arrangements. They had all decided that it would be on Sunday, and that they were going to try and keep it as small as possible. Eventually, they all left and Mrs. Briefs made Trunks go upstairs to bed. Once again, Trunks had a hard time sleeping, and his mind kept wandering to his mother. It wasn't fair. Why did she have to go, he didn't want to have to grow up without her. He remembered back to his 10th birthday, and what she had said to him.  
  
~ "You have already lived one decade of your life, Trunks, and I've loved watching you grow. And in the next ten years you will grow up into a handsome, young man. And you will go to school and get strait A's, just like your mother, and you will be super strong, just like your father. And then in the next ten years after that, maybe you'll find a job, or you will travel all around the world, and when you go to some exotic island with some unpronounceable name, you will meet this beautiful young woman, and fall madly in love with her. And then you will start your own family, and you will have beautiful, smart, strong, wonderful children, just like I did. And you'll love to watch them grow up with so much love, and only then, when you have children of your own, Trunks, will you understand just how much I love you, and enjoy watching you grow up."~  
  
His eyes filled with tears as he remembered his mother's smiling face. He got up out of bed and went to get a drink of water. On his way back to his room, he realized that his father was on the couch again, with the T.V. on to nothing in particular. He shuffled his feet back to his room, and tried to find sleep, once again.  
  
  
  
Vegeta took Trunks to the hospital, the next day, just like he had said he would. Trunks was a little shocked to see that his baby sister was hooked up to an I.V. and a respirator, and had some kind of plastic shell covering her. Trunks asked his father about why she was like that, and he said that it was because she was still really weak, and so she had to have it to help her stay alive.  
  
Vegeta told Trunks about what some of the doctors had said to him yesterday. He said that she was doing really well for her condition, and she was making great progress and would be able to go home with them soon. He also explained, though, that she had a weak immune system, so she could get sick easily, and that she would also probably always be a little small for her age.  
  
"Like you?" Trunks asked. Vegeta just glared at him.  
  
"That's not funny," he said seriously, but then he just smirked at his son's remark.  
  
Trunks turned back to Bra and put his hand and the plastic shell. "Hi, Bra." He said in a soft voice. "I'm your big brother, and I will always take care of you, and I will help protect you, and when you ever need anyone to talk to, I will listen."  
  
Vegeta's felt full of pride, but also a slight twinge at his heartstring and his expression saddened when he heard his son talk to his daughter. "She can't hear you." He told Trunks. Trunks turned around and looked at his father quizzically. Vegeta looked into Trunks' eyes and took a deep breath. "She's deaf."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Dun, Dun, Dunnnnn! And the plot thickens. Please tell me what you think of this development. O-negai shimasu. I love it when you review.* 


	4. Ashes to Ashes

*Here it is, the next chapter, I kinda got mixed reviews on my last chapter, however that issue will not really be addressed in this chapter, but probably the next. This chap is another tearjerker, I never really intended this fic to be so sad, but I guess I just got in that mood. Oh well. I'm glad to get all the reviews. My ancestors and I thank you all. Enjoy, and please keep reviewing.*  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, I am not Akira Toriyama, unless, however, he hit his head walking home one day, got amnesia, a sex change, and a lot of plastic surgery and was shipped off to some remote city in the west where he/she was told that he/she was a random high school girl with a crush on some purple-haired cartoon character named after boys underwear.  
  
  
  
  
  
Vegeta On his Own  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Ashes to Ashes  
  
  
  
  
  
He had seen her for the last time. He would never see her face again. They closed the cherry oak lid on her casket and they placed it over the hole where she would spend the rest of eternity. His mate, his wife, his queen, once the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on, now only a lifelike doll destined to sleep under the earth's surface eternally.  
  
He stood in front of her grave, where they were lowering the casket, flowers and all. Trunks had dragged his grandmother along to every flower shop in town, to find a flower that was the exact shade of her favorite color. A rich dark blue, which would almost seem seagreen if you tilted it in the sunlight just right; the color of her eyes.  
  
Nature seemed to be the only thing that day full of color. Everyone standing around the grave was wearing the traditional black in mourning of their friend. Even Vegeta had put on a black suit for the occasion, and they were all wearing ties.  
  
However, none of them, except for Gohan who had to wear ties at work, knew how to tie them. So they all stood around him before the ceremony as he instructed them on the art of tying the tie. Trunks and Vegeta had gotten it on the first try, but Goten had somehow managed to tie a bow, and Goku ended up gagging himself with it. Gohan had to help him while Vegeta walked off muttering "baka Kakkarot."  
  
Trunks stepped closer to his father as they finished lowering the casket. Vegeta looked down at his son when he felt him rub against his leg and saw that a steady flow of tears were making their way down his face. Vegeta's eyes watered, but the tears wouldn't come. He felt frustrated, half of him wanted to hold the tears back from pride, the other half was yelling at him for being so cold-hearted. But the tears never fell, but just clouded his vision, until he could no longer see the epitaph on the tombstone. But he didn't need to, he knew what was there. Her name. And it would stay there forever. She was now only a sweet memory.  
  
  
  
Vegeta sat out in the backyard of their house as the reception dragged on. He was sitting at a picnic table mixing around his piece of cake with his fork. 'Cake?' he thought, 'Why the hell was there cake at a funeral. What were they going to write on it? "Happy deathday, Bulma?"' He was snapped out of his musings when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He recognized the familiar ki and shrugged the hand off his shoulder.  
  
"Fuck off, Kakkarot." He said it, but he didn't mean it.  
  
Goku ignored it. "Are you o.k., Vegeta?" He sat down next to the smaller saiyan and looked at him with concern. They were more like brothers than anything, best friends at times, and worst enemies at others. Even their kids would call the other one "uncle".  
  
Vegeta just pretended to be enthralled with his piece of cake again. He was slumped down in his seat, and Goku was genuially concerned for him. He had never seen him like this before, but of course nothing had really happened like this to him since Goku had known Vegeta.  
  
"Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked again. Vegeta straightened up as if an idea just struck him. He got up and faced Goku and motioned for him to get up, too. Goku just stood up looking confused, and just then Vegeta clobbered him in the stomach. Goku just doubled down clutching his stomach for he was caught completely off guard.  
  
Vegeta smirked. "Thanks, Kakkarot. I think I feel a little better now." He walked off to the otherside of the yard leaving Goku on the ground scrunched up in pain.  
  
"No..problem..Vegeta." He chocked out with a faint smile on his face.  
  
  
  
Trunks was in a corner of the backyard all by himself sitting on his swing set, gently rocking himself back and forth with the tips of his toes. He was holding his black tie in his hands and dragging it on the ground, and the top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. Goten had been sitting with him, but, like always, ran off when he heard his mother say it was dinner time. Trunks stared at the ground, but then noticed when a shadow came up from behind him. He twisted around to see his father standing there with his shirt unbuttoned, too, and his tie hanging loose around his neck.  
  
Trunks turned back around, and Vegeta walked over and sat on the swing next to Trunks. Vegeta started rocking himself back and forth like his son, and looked over at him. "You're like me, not very social. I don't like having all these people here. I don't know half of them, and they keep trying to talk to me."  
  
"Same here, that's why I came over here. Most of them don't want to leave the main group to come over and say 'Oh, you poor boy, I feel so sorry for you.' I hate that." Trunks kept staring at the ground.  
  
"I guess they just don't know what else to say." Vegeta started pushing off from the ground with his feet. "So what is the purpose of this?" He asked Trunks.  
  
"I don't know," he replied. "It's really for people who don't know how to fly, I guess." He started to swing along with Vegeta, and they kept getting higher and higher (without much effort) until Vegeta hopped off a few feet away.  
  
"I can jump farther!" Trunks yelled and jumped off the swing ten feet away from where his father was standing. Vegeta walked up to him and glared.  
  
"You know I wasn't even trying." He said, and then he smiled. "Come on." He put his hand on Trunks' back and together they walked back to the party.  
  
  
  
It was now pretty late in the evening, and most of the people had gone home. Now the only ones to remain at Capsule Corps were the Z fighters and their families. Trunks, Goten, and Marron were sitting on the floor watching some T.V. show, and most of the adults were sitting around them on the sofas, except for Vegeta, who stood a little ways away, leaning on a door frame, with his arms crossed and a glazed look on his face as he stared at nothing in particular.  
  
"So," Chi Chi started, "What's going to happen. I'm mean with Bulma gone and all, who's going to take care of the kids?" Trunks spun around and Vegeta straightened up and stared over at the group.  
  
"Well, dear. My husband and I thought that we could take care of them, since we are the grandparents and all." Mrs. Briefs said. Some of the adults nodded in agreement.  
  
"And what about their father?" Everyone spun around to see Vegeta walking towards them with a glint of anger in his eyes. "Don't I get a say in this?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean, I just figured that Vegeta would take care of them, I mean, they are his kids." Goku said.  
  
"I just thought you didn't care." Mrs. Briefs said coldly.  
  
"Of course I care!" Vegeta was getting madder by the moment.  
  
"Well, It's just that you didn't care about Bulma or anything, why would you care about her children." Vegeta glared at her with his cold eyes. He wanted anything right now just to be able to tear her apart for saying that. She didn't take his warning however, and continued, "For years, I had to sit by and watch you tear apart my only daughter. The looks you gave her, and the way you never showed any appreciation, for all that she did for you. Did you ever even tell her you loved her?"  
  
Everyone in the room sat by in a shocked silence. Glancing back and forth between the angered individuals who stood up glaring at one another. Vegeta was fuming, but regained his composure, he was going to have to win this without fighting. He walked towards her slowly and his word came out in a soft hiss. "I did. I know I didn't say it often, and never in front of anyone else, but I told her as much as I could, and she knew it, and that's what matters. I know I'm not like you, I was raised different, hell, I wasn't even raised at all. I know I've been a bastard in my life, but I am doing the best I can now, and the reason I train so hard now is NOT to beat Kakkarot, it is so I can protect my family if that need comes again, I've lost Bulma for reasons beyond my control, but I am not going to lose my kids, and not you, and not anyone else, is going to take them from me." He turned his back on her and started to walk away.  
  
Mrs. Briefs stayed standing, but you couldn't hide the look of humiliation on her face. "Well, I can stand the kids living with me, but I can't stand you. If you really want to take care of your children, then you are going to have to find someplace else for you and them to stay."  
  
Vegeta turned back around. "Fine," he said, " then, tomorrow, I will look for appropriate living quarters for Trunks, Bra, and myself, and I will try to be out of your hair in reasonable amount of time." He walked out the backyard and flew off to kami knows where, to just be alone. Everyone else just stared out after him, in a silent shock.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*O.K. That's all for now, please review and keep reading. Arigato. I'll try to update soon.* 


	5. Transitions

*Sorry it's been awhile since my last update, but I have been busy with work and school, and other stuff. I have my finals next week, so hope that I do well because if I get a C in chemistry, my parents are grounding me from fanfiction.net. I know I may have overdone Mrs. Briefs a little bit, but I just had to get the story moving into just Vegeta and the kids. I don't know why I decided to make Bra deaf, I guess I just wanted to throw something in there to make it harder and you see so many fan fics with the characters being blind so I thought I would be different and have her be deaf. It really won't be too dramatic of a thing though. Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate them so much.  
  
In this chapter I will mention "ramune". What it is is a Japanese soda, that comes in a funky bottle and is really good (it's kinda like sprite). And, you should know that you cannot call yourself an otaku without having it at least once before. So if you haven't have it, visit your local sushi bar or Japanese import store to try some.*  
Disclaimer: I own not Dragonball Z, nor it's characters, nor Wendy's, nor ramune.  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Transitions  
"Oh, Kami. She's so adorable, Vegeta." Chi Chi sat on the Capsule Corps lawn, holding a tiny, three week old Bra. Vegeta, who just carrying out some boxes to the car, just smirked. "I just don't get it how an ugly man such as yourself have such a darling angel for a daughter."  
  
Vegeta put the boxes in the trunk and then turned around. "Aw, you don't mean that," he replied. "You're just upset that you got the less sexier of the two saiyans."  
  
Goku looked up from the dresser he was carrying out of the house. "What did you say, Vegeta?"  
  
"Nothing, Kakkarot, go back to your la la land." Goku just shrugged his shoulders and continued. "TRUNKS!" he called. "Hurry up, boy, we are going to go!"  
  
Vegeta heard a crashing noise and a cat screech as he saw Trunks, with his discman and headphones and wearing a backpack run out of the house, closely followed by Goten. Trunks turned around and gave his grandpa and grandma a hug goodbye. Mrs. Briefs held on for a while and whispered something to Trunks. He then kissed his Grandmother on the cheek and ran out to his father, who was standing by the car.  
  
"What did she say to you?" Vegeta asked Trunks.  
  
"She just told me to be a good boy and watch after Oneechan, and that if I can always call her or come back here." Trunks turned around and stared at the large building that he had know as "home" for all of his life. He then turned back around and saw that his father was staring at the house, too, probably thinking the same thing.  
  
"So, how are we going to do this?" Goku called out from behind the dresser.  
  
Vegeta was brought back to reality and cleared his throat. "Well, I thought that I could drive there with Bra, and then you guys can either fly or teleport to the place, with the rest of the stuff."  
  
"I'll go with you in the car then," Chi Chi said walking over to him still holding Bra. "Because I can't fly and I can hold Bra, when you drive."  
  
Vegeta just grunted, he wasn't looking forward to driving all the way there with Kakkarot's screechy mate, but he would have to suffice for the time being, he wasn't in the mood for making arguments, even though he usually was.  
  
So Vegeta got behind the drivers seat and Chi Chi got into the passenger side with Bra, and they drove off with most of the car weighed down with boxes of belongings. They drove off down the busy highway headed for the other side of the big city, where Vegeta had found a decent sized apartment in which he had deemed "livable."  
  
They drove in silence for a while, when Chi Chi finally decided to address the issue on her mind. "So...Vegeta, are you sure you're up for this?" She looked over at him with a serious look on her face.  
  
"Up for what?"  
  
"FOR THIS! For taking the responsibility of two living beings. There is a lot of work involved for taking care of kids, especially babies. You need to devote a lot of your time and attention on them, and you can't just give up, when things aren't going your way." She emphasized the words "time" and "attention" indicating the two things that Vegeta didn't give to his family.  
  
"Since when have I been one to give up? I'm a prince of a warrior race. I fight until the end."  
  
Chi Chi sighed. "You just don't get it, do you? Everything is about your stupid martial arts with you Saiyans, isn't it? You won't have the same amount of time to train. You are going to have to make sacrifices." Vegeta winced when she mentioned how he wouldn't be able to train.  
  
"It's not only that, Vegeta, but Bra is deaf, and you can't fix that. It is hard for any two parents to have to raise a child with a disability, and it's even harder for one. You are going to have to help her. You are going to have to learn to communicate with her. You are going to have to accept her the way she is."  
  
"I KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO DO!" Chi Chi was startled by Vegeta's outburst, as was he. He regained his composure, and went on. "I have been aware of the seriousness of the situation, and I have thought a lot about it. I am preparing myself for these tasks, and I intend to see my decision through. Besides, when Trunks was first conceived, me and Bulma made a deal, that if anything were to ever happen to one of us, the other would raise our children to the best of their ability." He then added softly, "I only wish it were me who died, she deserved to live more than I."  
  
The expression on his face was solemn as he stared at the road ahead of him, lost in a daze. Chi Chi looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. She looked so much like Bulma. With the big blue eyes, and the tiny wisps of blue hair on her head. She sighed. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you. And I can't blame you for the decision you have made. I only hope this will all turn out in the end."  
  
Vegeta didn't say anything back. He still appeared to be in his daze. After about ten minutes, Chi Chi noticed that the car had stopped.  
  
"We're here." He said.  
Goku and the others flew to the place with all of the bulky items, and arrived shortly after Vegeta had (since they had to wait to follow his ki because they didn't know where it is). The apartment wasn't half that bad. It had a decent sized kitchen connected with the living room and eating area. There were then two small bedrooms with a bathroom (which would be for Trunks and Bra), and a larger bedroom with a bathroom (which would be Vegeta's).  
  
The apartment was on the sixth and top floor of the building, and had a balcony (which was good, because, then they could easily fly off without anyone noticing). A park was right across the street from the apartment building, and they were at the edge of the city so the mountains were right behind them, and not too far from the Sons' house.  
  
Vegeta had inherited some of Bulma's money when she died, but because most of it was in Capsule Corps. Vegeta wasn't able to get all of it. They had enough for the time being, but Vegeta knew that he would have to find some way of making money once they got settled.  
  
Goku, Gohan, and Goten helped them get most of their stuff organized, while Chi Chi watched Bra. They didn't have much furniture, since most of it had belonged to Bulma's parents. They only had a couple dressers, desks, tables and chairs, and then a crib for Bra. Vegeta and Trunks didn't have any beds for the moment, nor a couch, or dinner table. All which would have to be bought later.  
  
After a quick run to the Wendy's down the street (where they bought out all their hamburgers), they all sat down to have a little dinner, and then the Sons decided it was time for them to go.  
  
"Now are you sure, you can take care of Bra for the night?" Chi Chi asked Vegeta.  
  
"Yes, I did have to take care of Trunks, too, when he was little." He smirked.  
  
"Okay then, I guess we'll go." With that the teleported back to their house.  
  
Vegeta looked over at Trunks who was shuffling through the boxes, looking for his CDs. When he found the one he was looking for he put it in his discman, then sat down in the corner listening to his music. Vegeta picked Bra up off the blanket that she was laying on, and carried her into her room, and put her to bed. When he came back out he walked into the kitchen to their near-empty fridge and pulled out two ramunes. He walked over near Trunks, sat next to him, and handed him one of the ramunes.  
  
Trunks slipped off his headphones and took the soda. "Thanks," he mumbled, as he popped it open and began to drink it.  
  
"I know it's not nearly as big as that mansion, but it'll have to do for the time being." Vegeta stated looking around the empty apartment. "It's really not that bad." Trunks said taking a sip of his ramune. He then leaned over and rested his head on Vegeta's shoulder and yawned.  
  
Vegeta smirked, "You tired?" Trunks just nodded. Vegeta then got up and started rummaging through the boxes and started to pull out some blankets and pillows. "It's been a busy day, and tomorrow probably will be too. We need to get some beds, but for tonight we can just sleep on the floor here."  
  
He tossed a pillow and blankets to Trunks, who took it and started to lay them out on the floor. He then went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get into his pajamas. When he came back Vegeta turned off the lights and they got settled. Trunks stared through the darkness thinking about all that had gone on. Everything was going so fast. His mom died, he had a new sister, and now they had to move to a new place. He grabbed his headphones and put them on, and fell asleep to the music playing softly in his ears.  
* O.K. this chapter was kinda like a little filler or transition story or whatever, you know what I mean, I just can't think up the word right now. Next week I only have like two and a half days of school, so I will try to get another chapter in then. Please review, I love it when you do.* 


	6. What We Build Our Lives Around

*I'M BACK!!!!!!!! O.k. sorry for the wait, but as some of you could of guessed, I did get a C in chemistry so I was grounded from the entire computer! But I just had midterms, and I now have a high B, so I'm back in the game. Thanks to all you reviewers, you helped me reach my goal of getting an average of 10 reviews per chapter. You like me, you really like me! I'll try to update about once every 1-2 weeks now, and I'll try to make the chapters longer. Please keep reviewing, you always make my day when you do.*  
  
Disclaimer: I own not DBZ, nor Virtua Fighter 4, nor Kmart, though I did used to be an employee.  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 6  
  
What We Build Our Lives Around  
Trunks awoke in the middle of the night from tossing around through the strange new surroundings. When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the blankets that his father intended to sleep on, but realized that he wasn't there. He searched around the small, empty apartment when he finally spotted his silhouette against the night sky, out on the balcony.  
  
Vegeta sat on the ledge of the balcony with one leg up and the other hanging down. His arms were crossed in the usual fashion, and he was staring out at the endless array of stars dotting the night sky. His face was expressionless and as Trunks stood against the glass doors in plain sight, it became obvious to him that his usually very observant father seemed to be lost in his thoughts, and it would be best not to disturb him.  
When Trunks woke up again, it was the middle of the morning already. He was back in his blankets, but when he looked over his father's hadn't been different from when he saw them the night before.  
  
He was hungry so he got up and went into the little kitchen where a box of cereal sat out on the counter. There was no milk in the place, so he dug his hands into the box and ate the cereal dry while sitting on the counter.  
  
After a few minutes, Vegeta entered into the room, carrying Bra. He was dressed in black pants and a dark blue shirt. He pulled out the baby carrier from the pile of boxes and placed Bra in it. He looked over towards Trunks.  
  
"Get dressed," he said, "we're going to go shopping."  
  
Trunks came out of his room dressed in his shorts and a t-shirt and his hair combed. Vegeta put a blanket over Bra, and then they walked down to their car, parked on the curb. They drove to a Super Kmart (*A/N I used to work there, I don't anymore because mine just closed last week :-( *) which was just a little ways down the street.  
  
Vegeta looked over towards Trunks. "Will this serve our needs?" He asked cocking one eyebrow.  
  
Trunks nodded, "Yeah, me and okasan would always come here to get a bunch of stuff."  
  
They entered the large retail store, and Vegeta pulled out a shopping cart and placed the baby carriage in it. Trunks then led the way around the store. Vegeta followed Trunks to the first place he lead them, which was really Toys.  
  
Vegeta grunted and then yelled, "BRAT, you got enough play things as it is, let's not waste our time and let us do something productive for once."  
  
Trunks hung his head in embarrassment as the other shoppers stared at him and Vegeta. "Kami, otosan, don't have a cow, I was just seeing what action figures they have."  
  
"Either way, we are going to need a lot of stuff, so we need to spend our time wisely. Unless, that is, if you want to eat action figures everyday for lunch instead of food." Vegeta glared at his son, and Trunks just rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long day.  
  
So Trunks lead his father throughout the store, showing him how to shop. Vegeta had never really gone shopping before, so it was really all new to him. Vegeta kept getting easily annoyed by all the women who would come up to him and ooh and aah over Bra, and say how he was "such a wonderful father," and how "they would never get their husbands to take the kids shopping." Finally when one extremely ditzy blond asked if she could hold Bra, he lost his temper.  
  
"BITCHES," he screamed, "GO LEAD YOUR PATHETIC LIVES ELSEWHERE, AND LEAVE ME AND MY BRATS TO SHOP IN PEACE!" Needless to say that they didn't bother him for a while.  
  
They were finishing up their shopping at Kmart in the electronics section, where Vegeta and Trunks were arguing over getting a T.V.  
  
"Please, Otosan, every family has to have a T.V., I don't know anyone who hasn't got one. Even Goten has got a T.V." Trunks put on his puppy dogface and tried to look innocent.  
  
"All the more reason not to get one," Vegeta grunted as he stared at the long wall of T.V.s repeatedly playing some kind of weird action cartoon with blond spikey-haired superheros. "Besides, all you do is just waste your day in front of this thing and put off your training." He continued to eye the contraption wondering how any good could come from it.  
  
"Oh come on, Papa, I won't waste too much time in front of it, I promise, and besides if we don't have a T.V., I can't play my PS2 anymore and we won't be able to fight eachother in Virtua Fighter 4." He smiled up at his father and saw him drop his arms down to his side in defeat.  
  
"Fine," he said sharpely, but if you're putting off your training, then I'm going to final flash that thing into the next dimension." Trunks nodded and then started skipping around the cart as Vegeta grabbed a medium sized T.V. from the shelf and put it into a second cart. They started walking away when on the T.V.s playing on the wall, one of the spikey- haired guys wearing an orange gi yelled out to the other wearing blue spandex. Vegeta spun around, searching the store.  
  
"What is it?" Trunks asked noting his father's weird behavior.  
  
"It's just that I thought I heard someone calling my name."  
  
"Maybe you're just getting old," said Trunks to his father, and then he turned around and started in the direction of the front-end cash registers, as Vegeta was taken aback by the comment.  
  
"I'm not old," he mumbled under his breath, sounding a little hurt.  
They had left Kmart and then gone to a furniture store where they found some of their much-needed furniture. Now the sun was beginning to set in the sky, and the two boys and the baby girl (who had been very well behaved throughout the day) found themselves in a family resteraunt filling their void super-saiyan stomachs with a rather large amount of food.  
  
Vegeta was eating his steak in silence, when he glanced across the room and saw a couple sitting very close together in a corner booth. His throat hardened and he felt a slight pain in his heart as he looked on at the loving couple, and even though Trunks and Bra were there, he felt lonely and incomplete.  
  
"Hello, Otosan, Earth to Otosan." Trunks waved his hands in front of Vegeta's face, bringing him back to reality.  
  
"Oh, sorry, what did you want?" He looked over at Trunks, his expression soft and distant.  
  
Trunks just sat a little shocked. Did his father just say sorry? He shook his head and remembered what he was going to say. "I was just wondering if we were ready to go."  
  
"Yes, of course, let's go." And with that, Vegeta paid the bill (which was very large) and the got into the car and drove home in the dying light. When they got to the apartment, he found that both Bra and Trunks had fallen asleep on the drive. He tried to wake up Trunks, but he was sound asleep. So he decided to unload the car in the morning and grabbing the baby carrier in one hand and holding Trunks by his waist with his other arm, he headed up the long flight of stairs and down the hallway to their apartment. He left the lights off and put Bra in her crib and Trunks down where he had slept the night before. Then, collapsing from the exhaustion (shopping can take a lot out of a saiyan) he slumped against the wall, onto the floor, and wearily closed his eyes.  
*So, I hoped you liked it. Once again, this was more of a filler chapter, there'll be more drama and fun stuff coming up soon. Please review, and I'll try to update again soon.* 


	7. Worries

*Woo-hoo, I updated! Sorry for the wait, but I have been really busy with school, and my computer's being screwy. But now school is finally out, so I made this chapter twice as long as the last. I want this to be a pretty long story so I'm going to make the chapters longer. I hope you enjoy this, and please review.  
  
Okay, in this chapter Trunks refers to Goku and Chi Chi as Uncle Goku and Aunt Chi Chi. I did this because if you watch the Japanese version (especially GT) Goten and Trunks refer to eachothers parents as Aunt and Uncle, because the families are really close. And also I introduced an OC (don't worry she'll barely have a part in the story, because I really don't like OCs having a really big part) but for those of you who have watched "X", yes I know Kotori is a character in that anime, but I really don't know many female Japanese names, anyway, so I'm going to shut up now and get on to the story.*  
  
Disclaimer-No, I do not own Dragonball Z, a.k.a DBZ, a.k.a "That anime with the guys with the big yellow hair."  
  
Vegeta on His Own  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Worries  
  
Trunks sat on their new couch in the middle of the small family room. He was sitting cross-legged and gently cradling his baby sister in his arms. He looked over to his father who was standing in the kitchen putting the groceries away. He seemed utterly confused on where to put everything. He never even had down where Bulma had kept everything at Capsule Corps.  
  
"Otosan?" Trunks tried to get his attention, but Vegeta was too caught up in trying to remember if the peanut butter or the jelly belonged in the fridge.  
  
"Otosan?" Trunks tried again, this time a little louder. Sighing in defeat Vegeta shrugged his shoulders, shoved both condiments into the refridgerator and turned around to face his son. Trunks noticed that his eyes were a little red, and he didn't look too well. Trunks pushed aside the thought and went on with his original question.  
  
"Can you teach me how to feed Bra? I want to be able to help you take care of her, and Okasan said that she would teach me after she was born, and well.." Vegeta saw his son's sad eyes and went over towards him.  
  
"You want to help?" He asked Trunks as he sat down on the couch next to him. Trunks nodded his head. Vegeta sighed and held out his hands as a request for his only daughter. Trunks carefully transferred the baby into his father's strong hands. "So it's really easy, after you get the hang of it, your mother used to continually pester me to help take care of you, but she didn't realize that I had no idea how to." As he talked he took the baby bottle and showed Trunks how it was done, and then passed Bra back to his son. Trunks cradled Bra in one arm and held up the bottle to her mouth. The little girl started sucking away and moved her hands up to touch Trunks's hand that held the bottle. Her wide eyes stared up into her brothers, and a genuine smile spread across Trunks's face for the first time since his mother's death.  
  
"She's got the saiyan appetite." Giggled Trunks as he noticed that the bottle had already been drained completely. Vegeta took the bottle and went to fill it with some milk. Right when he was putting the cap back on the bottle, he heard a knock on the door. A little confused on who it would be he handed the bottle back to Trunks and went to the door and opened it.  
  
He was surprised to find a red-haired middle-aged women with a huge smile plastered to her thin face and a plate of homemade cookies that she held up right infront of Vegeta's face.  
  
"Hell-o!" she said while bobbing her head in a cheerful way. "My name is Kotori and I live right across the hallway, welcome to the building new neighbor." She squeaked as she finished and went back to smiling wildly and tilting her head back and forth, waiting for some kind of response from Vegeta. There came none. He just stood there staring down the peppy lady with his cold glare.  
  
Kotori started to get worried under his stare and started to cower. She held out the plate of cookies farther. "I made cookies for you and your family."  
  
Vegeta looked at her, looked at the cookies, then looked at her again. "Why?" he asked.  
  
"Wow, and I was just starting to think you couldn't talk at all." She started to relax again and smiled. "Anyways, I made the cookies as a 'Welcome to the Building' sort of thing, ya know."  
  
"They're not poisoned are they?" Vegeta asked, not getting the concept.  
  
"Of course not!" She laughed and jabbed him in the arm.  
  
Vegeta looked down at his arm and then at the crazy women. "Are you challenging me?" Kotori was caught off guard and stared dumbfoundly, not sure what to say.  
  
"What's going on, Otosan?" Trunks asked as he walked over to the doorway.  
  
Kotori leaned down towards Trunks holding out the plate of cookies. "Oh, you're sure a cute little boy, maybe you would like these cookies, your father seems to not trust me."  
  
"I'm not a little boy, I'm ten and a half." He stared at her then looked at Vegeta. "Otosan, can I have a cookie."  
  
"You can make sure they're not poisoned for me."  
  
Trunks took a bite. "Mmmmm, They are really good. Arigoto, Lady."  
  
Vegeta looked down at Trunks, who was scarfing down the cookies. "Hey, boy, save some for me."  
  
"Nuh-uh. You already turned them down, they're all mine now."  
  
Trunks skipped back off to the family room. Vegeta looked at Kotori and grabbed the door. "Thanks for the non-threatening sweets, the boy will now be wired the rest of the day." He started to close the door.  
  
"Wait," she cried out.  
  
Vegeta stopped and stuck his head out the door. "Nani?"  
  
"You never told me your name."  
  
"Vegeta. Prince Vegeta." And with that, Vegeta slammed the door in her face leaving her confused in the hallway.  
  
"Prince?" she whispered to herself.  
  
Each day the new apartment became more and more like a home to the Briefs. It had been a little more than two weeks, and the place was starting to fill. Trunks had his bedroom with a bed, a desk, and a dresser, and he had started to paste posters on the walls. Bra's wasn't much because she was a baby, but Vegeta pretty much had nothing. He had a simple queen sized bed with simple blue covers on it, and Trunks was pretty sure that his dad was yet to use it.  
  
Vegeta had yet to try to actually cook, probably afraid of burning the house down. They went out for dinner or just had sandwiches. Trunks mainly took care of Bra, because Vegeta really didn't like to. He would feed her and change her diapers, except at night when Vegeta would, because he was already awake anyway.  
  
Trunks was really starting to worry about his father once again. He knew he hadn't slept since his mother's death, and it was really wearing him down. Not only that, but he noticed how his father was being well.nicer and stuff. He welcomed the change, but couldn't help but think that his father, who usually expressed his anger and hatred for the world, wasn't expressing it so as to comfort his two children. It was starting to bother Trunks and being cooped up in the apartment wasn't helping either.  
  
Trunks had been watching T.V. when the phone rang. At first Vegeta and Trunks just stopped what they were doing and stared at it. The phone had never rang before, and Vegeta couldn't remember giving their number out to anyone. Trunks got up and answered it.  
  
"Moshi Moshi?" He half asked, half answered. After awhile, a smile spread across his face. "Hello Goten, how are you.I'm good.Can I play?.umm let me ask my Otosan."  
  
He put the phone down. "Otosan, can I go over to Goten's house?"  
  
Vegeta looked a little caught off guard. "Ummmmm, I guess so."  
  
"Hey Goten, you still there.Yeah I can play.What's that.Just a minute. Hey Otosan, Uncle Goku wants to know if you want to spar." Vegeta shook his head. "No he doesn't.O.K.well I'll just fly over there.see ya in a minute."  
  
Trunks hung up the phone. "So, I'm going over to Goten's house. Do I have to be back by any time?"  
  
Vegeta thought about. "No, you can stay for as long as you want. But, practice fighting with him, we haven't been training in awhile, we need to start doing that again."  
  
Trunks nodded his head. "O.K. well I'm going to go now, ja ne." And with that, he went out to the balcony and flew off towards the Son's house.  
  
Vegeta just stared off at the little ki trail of his son and shook his head. "I suck at being a father," he said to himself, and went to go wake Bra up from her nap.  
  
Trunks was enjoying his sparring matches with Goten outside the Son's house in the mountains. After a couple hours they had called it a draw and then they went to the pond where they stripped down and went diving off the cliff into the cool, refreshing pool of water below. Goku and Gohan joined them, and they started a game of who could make the largest cannonball. Goku won when he jumped off the cliff and went super saiyan when he hit the water, causing it to go flying out of the pond. The boys were then sorely disappointed because there was barely a pond to swim in anymore.  
  
It was getting to be dusk, so they gathered their clothes and walked back to the house. When they got there Chi Chi ran outside and pulled Trunks and Goten inside and started drying them off going on about how they were going to get a cold. She then let Trunks borrow a dry pair of Goten's clothes and they gathered around the table to eat diner.  
  
Chi Chi looked over at Trunks. "So, Trunks, how are you doing?"  
  
"I'm okay." He started shoveling down the homecooked meal. "Mmmmm, Aunt Chi Chi, this is great."  
  
"Has Vegeta tried to cook yet, Trunks?" asked Gohan.  
  
"Nope, he's afraid he'll burn down the place."  
  
"I could seriously see Vegeta doing that," laughed Goku.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure he would do just fine. He would be a whole lot better than you for sure, Goku, I wouldn't leave you alone in a kitchen for more than two minutes."  
  
"Yeah, because Dad would eat it all."  
  
The whole family laughed including Goku, who just gave them his famous grin. Trunks, however, just smiled and went back to eating his diner.  
  
Goten turned towards Trunks. "Hey, Trunks, do you think your dad would let you stay here overnight?"  
  
"Goten, I gave you the whole day off to play today. You need to study." Chi Chi glared at him and Goten got sight of the frying pan hanging by the stove, within arm's length of where his mother was sitting.  
  
"O.K., Okasan." He replied looking down at the table. "I'll guess we'll have to do it another time, Trunks."  
  
"No problem, I really don't do very much at home, anyways."  
  
"Hey, Trunks, are you training with Vegeta any?" asked Gohan.  
  
"Nah, I guess because we have to watch Bra, and we don't have the gravity room anymore. I think that's why he didn't want to spar with you, Uncle Goku, he thinks he has gotten soft."  
  
Goku grinned, "Aw, knowing Vegeta he'll pick up his old habits soon."  
  
They finished their supper, and after rough housing for a while, it was time for Trunks to go home. It was dark outside so Goku instant transmissioned Trunks to his balcony and then left. Trunks walked inside and found his father in his bedroom, lying on top of the sheets and staring up at the ceiling. Trunks ran in the room and jumped onto his father's chest, startling him quite a bit.  
  
"Hey, Otosan." He said smiling at his father.  
  
Vegeta sat up, still a little startled, and gently pushed Trunks off his lap and onto the space next to him. "It was the same, nothing more. Why are you so happy?" he asked eyeing Trunks suspiciously as if he was guilty of some crime.  
  
"Aw, no reason."  
  
"Well, I hope you used up all your energy over at Kakkarot's because it's late, and it's time for you to go to bed."  
  
"O.K., Otosan," he said and then he quickly hugged Vegeta. Vegeta was caught off guard, and tensed up from the contact. Trunks then ran out of the room, stopping at the door, he turned around. "Night, Papa," he said then ran out to his room, leaving behind a very befuddled Vegeta.  
  
Back over at the Son's, Chi Chi had put Goten to bed and came back into the living room, where Goku and Gohan were watching T.V. "Well, it was nice to see how Trunks is doing, he's seems to be getting along okay." She sat down on the armrest next to Goku and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, and it sounds like Vegeta is being really nice," said Goku.  
  
Gohan stirred uncomfortably, not sure if he should say what was on his mind. "I don't know.it just seems that for someone like Vegeta, who usually vents his feeling so often.I mean it just seems like he's keeping his emotions inside, and that's really not healthy."  
  
Goku looked confused. "What do you mean, Gohan?"  
  
"Gohan's right," said Chi Chi, "I'm really worried for him, because if he keeps this up he might let it all go at once, and he could seriously end up hurting himself or others."  
  
Gohan sighed, "I just hope that Trunks and Bra will be okay."  
  
*Wow, it has been taking me forever to finish this, I hoped you all liked it, well anyways; I will try and get a new chapter up in a relatively decent amount of time. Ta ta for now* 


	8. Dreams

*Here we are, the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but I've been on vacation the past month, so I've been away from my computer. Please, please, please review. I didn't get nearly as many reviews for the last chapter as I did the chapter before, and I don't know if that was because it sucked, or it was so-so, or if you just didn't read it. If you don't like where the story is going, please tell me, and if you do like where the story is going, please tell me. O.K., enough jabber, thank you to those who have been reviewing, and I actually wrote a bio, so you can check that out if you're bored. Now onto the story, it turned out a little longer than I planned, but there is a lot of drama, so enjoy.*  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Dreams  
  
Images were flashing through Vegeta's mind at a rapid pace. They barely stayed long enough for Vegeta to interpret what it was before another one appeared. Pictures flashing constantly and morphing into the next. His heartbeat was quickening, he could feel it pounding against his rib cage like a wild animal trying to escape. Then a face stood out longer than the others. Bulma. The images would play again, then... Bulma. His heart skipped a beat, his breath caught in his throat. Then the scene completely changed. He was on Namek, and he was lying, beaten on the cold, hard ground with Frieza standing over him, menacingly. He saw him grin. "Only a monkey," he whispered. Then a beam of light shot through Frieza's body, tearing him apart in a burst of white light. Vegeta turned to the source of the energy blast to see Kakarot, standing there, laughing. "Always one step behind, aren't we, Vegeta?" His face then became serious, his lips curled and suddenly, it wasn't Kakarot, but Cell. "Ah, Vegeta. We are foolish, aren't we?" He raised his hand, pointed a finger and shot out a beam of light. Vegeta threw his arms in front of his face, and braced himself for the attack, but instead he heard a strangled cry from behind him. He spun around to see Mirai Trunks lying on the ground, his eyes wide open, and a bloody hole, through the center of his chest. Suddenly he was overcome by rage and he ran towards Cell and grabbed his neck with both hands and tried to strangle the life out of him. But then the face changed again, and it wasn't Cell he was strangling, but Bulma. Her eyes were open and staring at him in shock. "Vegeta," she half-choked, half-cried. He loosened his grip considerably, but continued to hold her up, and her head fell backwards, limply. "What did you do?" He heard someone yell at him and spun around to where Mirai Trunks' body was supposed to be, but instead it was his Trunks. His eyes were wide in disbelief and then he shut them and tears flowed freely out, and he screamed, "You bastard, first you kill Okasan, and now you're going to kill her, too!" Confused Vegeta turned back to face the body he was holding, but instead of Bulma, it was Bra.  
  
Suddenly, Vegeta felt the real world crash down upon him, and he found himself in Bra's room, holding her up from her crib with both hands around her small body. His eyes widened in shock at what he was doing and he took a sharp intake of air. Bra was crying at the top of her lungs and Vegeta gently put her back down in her crib. He slumped to the floor shaking. He had almost killed his own daughter without realizing it; she might even be hurt now.  
  
"Otosan, are you O.K.?"  
  
Vegeta spun around to see Trunks staring at him in concern. He found that he was still shaking, and tried to relax. He stood back up, and took a deep breath. "Hai," he replied, but it was barely even a whisper. He looked back down at Bra, and could see red marks where his hands had gripped her. He reached his hand out, but drew it back. He wanted so badly to pick her up and hold her until she stopped crying, but he was terrified that he would hurt her again.  
  
Trunks was utterly bewildered at his father's behavior and his sister's screams (for she was usually a quiet baby). He walked over to the side of the crib, and looked at his father's face. His face was utterly pale, but glistening from sweat, and his eyes were full of shock and.fear? He leaned over and gently picked his baby sister up in his arms and held her close to his body and started to gently rock her. Vegeta had turned and was now staring absentmindedly at the fragile baby cradled in his son's arms.  
  
Trunks began to feel nervous under his father's intensive glare. He became aware of how hot the room was, and how his pajamas were sticking to the sweat on his body. He felt almost sick to his stomach in the heat. Vegeta reached out his hands and brushed the blue whisps of hair on Bra's head out of her eyes. Trunks watched curiously and saw his fathers hand brush her hair, and then, as he was drawing it away, he felt their skin come into contact, and shivered for it was ice cold.  
  
He then noticed the red marks covering Bra's body. He didn't want to say anything, but he knew they were from his father. However, he knew that if his father wanted to inflict damage upon her, she would have been long dead. He looked up at him, trying to put the expression on his face, and the marks on his sister, together.  
  
"Are you o.k., Papa?" He asked again.  
  
No answer.  
  
He held out Bra, who had calmed down considerably, to his father. "Do you want to hold her?"  
  
Vegeta took a sharp intake of breath and backed up as his sons held out the baby. His heart was racing and he was starting to feel clausterphobic, with his daughter so near. "I.I think I'll go train," he said, "Yes, I haven't done that in awhile." He brushed pass Trunks and exited the room, and headed to the balcony, where he blasted off.  
  
Vegeta cut through the night air, high above the towns, and almost skimming along the clouds. He finally came to a lush, green valley, nestled in the middle of high mountains. He landed in the middle of the field, and closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. Then he quickly started his training with fierce kicks and punches at his intangible opponent.  
  
He was still wearing the same outfit he had gone to bed in: a tight black tank and black boxers. He hardly cared at the moment, because it's not like anyone was there watching him. The summer night was warm, but it felt good against his skin, which was still clammy from his "all too real" nightmare.  
  
He tried to distract himself with his training, but his mind kept wandering back to his baby daughter. He could have killed her. He almost had. He clenched his teeth as he felt a stab of pain in the pit of his stomach, and his eyes started to water. He collapsed onto all fours, and started breathing rapidly as he could only think more and more of the horrible dream, and his horrible awakening.  
  
Trunks woke up to find the sunlight streaming through the glass balcony doors, high in the sky. He had fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for his father, and by the looks of it, he still hadn't come home. He went to his sister's room and took her out of her crib, sat down in the chair, and fed her with the bottle sitting on the nightstand. As he held her he noticed the bruises covering her body had now turned blue. 'It's a good thing she's half-saiyan,' he thought, 'they won't hurt her as much.'  
  
Trunks' head shot up when he heard the balcony door slam shut, and waited for his father to come. Vegeta walked by the room, and briefly looked in to see Trunks feeding Bra, and then he proceeded to his own room. He certainly looked as if he had been training, for his clothes stuck to his body with sweat, and his breathing was a little quickened.  
  
Trunks didn't see his father at all for the rest of the day, and he had to make himself sandwiches for lunch and dinner, and take care of Bra. Finally, the next morning, Trunks awoke to find his father in the kitchen making breakfast. After many failed attempts from the previous weeks, Vegeta had finally gotten down how to fry eggs, and so their breakfasts mainly consisted in about a dozen eggs each and toast.  
  
Their lunch was silent, Trunks had learned long ago to never try to push his father into a conversation, for Vegeta usually liked to keep to himself. However, their lack of communication wasn't healthy for them since they no longer had their mother to talk with. She had formed the connection between the two. And with Bulma gone, their connection was lost.  
  
Their silence continued throughout most of the day, and even Bra seemed to be observing the silence. Finally it seemed like the day would finally end when the family sat down for dinner. The meal started off okay with their usual microwaved hotdogs, and Vegeta was trying to feed Bra. Bra, however, did not want to eat. She kept turning her head away and she started to cry the more Vegeta tried to feed her. Finally, Vegeta gave up on trying to feed her, and picked her up from her high chair, hoping that maybe if he held her, she would calm down.  
  
But Bra didn't want to calm down. Her crying was growing louder and louder and Vegeta's patience was beginning to thin. He put her back down in the high chair and gave her a rattle that the Sons had given her when she was born. She picked up the rattle and then started crying harder, and threw the rattle away off the high chair.  
  
"What do you want? Why won't you stop crying?" Vegeta asked her as he tried to offer her her bottle again. She started screaming at the top of her tiny lungs, and Vegeta banged his head on the table in frustration.  
  
"She doesn't need changing," commented Trunks trying to help his father calm down his sister because her crying was starting to get on his nerves, too.  
  
"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" Vegeta stood up from his chair, knocking it over, and spun around to throw the bottle at the hard refridgerator door, smashing the bottle on impact and spilling the formula everywhere.  
  
"DON'T YELL AT HER!" Trunks screamed at his father's back and standing up from his chair.  
  
Vegeta was taken aback at having his son yell at him, but that quickly faded away, and his anger and frustration from the past months that he had been hiding away started to boil, and his face became red. He strode around the table and up to his son and bent his face down so that their eyes were only a foot apart. He clenched his teeth and snarled, "don't ever tell me what to do."  
  
Trunks didn't back off and looked his father back in the eyes. "Well maybe she's crying because the last time you were with her, you tried to kill her."  
  
Vegeta stood up strait, "Don't talk about what you don't know, boy."  
  
"I SAW THE BRUISES ON HER! YOU TRIED TO KILL HER THE OTHER NIGHT!"  
  
"I WOULD NEVER TRY TO KILL HER," he yelled back, then he muttered to himself, "it was just a dream."  
  
But Trunks had heard this, "OH, SO IT WAS A DREAM. IS THAT YOUR EXCUSE FOR THIS TIME."  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"  
  
"YOU'RE ALWAYS MAKING EXCUSES. 'I ONLY KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN THE STADIUM BECAUSE I WAS POSESSED, I SHOULD BE THE STRONGEST BECAUSE I'M THE PRINCE, I CAN'T BE BEATEN BY KAKAROT BECAUSE HE'S A THIRD CLASS SAIYAN, I CAN'T LOVE MY FAMILY BECAUSE OF MY DARK PAST!"  
  
Trunks' comments hit Vegeta hard, and his rage was increasing with every blow his son hit him with. "DON'T EVER TALK TO ME THAT WAY, I'M YOUR FATHER!"  
  
"YOU'RE MY FATHER? NOW THERE'S AN EXCUSE YOU DON'T USE TOO OFTEN. GODDAMMIT, OTOSAN, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO STOP USING EXCUSES TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE!"  
  
SMACK  
  
Trunks lay on the ground with tears in his eyes as he felt the blood pour out from the broken vessels under the skin on his left cheek. Vegeta stood over him with his left hand still held in the air and his eyes full of shock at what he had just done. In his rage he had backhanded his only son across the face with all of his strength. Trunks brought his hand up to his throbbing cheek, and let his tears flow freely down his face. "I hate you," he sobbed, then he stood up and ran into his room, slamming the door.  
  
Trunks lay on his bed with his face on the pillow. He couldn't seem to stop crying. His father had hit him. He couldn't believe it. Though he always got along better with his mother, he had always looked up to his father as if he was a hero. And he was a hero to him. But now that seemed so long ago. The past few months had seemed like an eternity. He missed his mother dearly, and even though he loved his new little sister, every time he held her he wondered if she was worth losing his mother up to.  
  
He calmed down, and unburied his face from the depths of the pillow, and turned onto his right side to look at the picture on his nightstand. It was of his mother and himself at the post-Buu picnic. They still held the picnic every year at Capsule Corps., but that would change, too. There was so much change in his life the past few months, and now, more than ever, he needed his mother to help him through the changes. He was still only ten, and it seemed that he lost the only person that had ever loved him.  
  
Trunks heard the door to his room open slowly, and his breath caught in his throat. He didn't dare look towards it and kept his hand on top of his bruised cheek. His father's heavy footsteps disturbed the stillness of the room, as he walked over towards Trunks on his bed. Trunks flinched when he took a hold of his hand, preparing for the worst, but Vegeta only lifted it up slightly and then placed something cold on his bruised face and then put his hand back down. Trunks clutched at the thing he had given him. It was an icepack.  
  
"I'm sorry." The words sounded distant and unreal, but Trunks knew he heard it. His father had apologized to him. Slowly he sat up and turned to look at his father. Vegeta didn't look at him though, but instead talked towards the wall. "I would of given you a senzu bean, but I know you're tough." He looked over at him and gave him a little smile, but Trunks didn't return it.  
  
He turned his gaze back towards the wall, " There is no excuse for the way I acted. I should of never hit you."  
  
Trunks looked down at his bed. "I'm sorry about the things I said. I don't really think about you that way." They stayed there for a while, looking in any direction except at each other. Then, slowly, Trunks got off his bed and hugged his father. He wanted to just stay there, and he was hoping that Vegeta wouldn't push him away.  
  
Vegeta just stood there with his arms pinned to his side, then, after hesitating a little, he took one arm and put it on Trunks' back. "I do care about you, son." He said slowly and barely above a whisper. "Even if I don't show it."  
  
Trunks smiled. "I know, Otosan. I know."  
  
*O.K., Vegeta was a little OOC at the end, but I wanted to finish up the chapter on a good note. I know that Trunks may had seem more like a teenager than a 10 year-old when he was arguing with Vegeta, but he just gets it from his parents. If you're reading this now, it means you've read the whole chapter, so please review and I'll try to update A.S.A.P.* 


	9. School Day Blues

*Yeah! I've updated again. This chapter would have been up sooner, but school started this week, and so I haven't had as much time. The next chapter might be a little slow getting up for the same reason, but I won't leave you dangling for two months again. Thanks for all your reviews and I hope you like this chapter.*  
  
Disclaimer-No I do not own Dragonball Z, I just own some action figures with whom I like to put into weird poses.  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 9  
  
School Day Blues  
  
"O.K., class, we have a new student to this school." Trunks stood in the front of the class with all eyes bearing down on him. He just stood there, silent, conscience about the muscles on his arms, easily bigger than most ten year olds, and the fading bruise still on his cheek. Vegeta and him had decided that it was best for him to go to a regular school, because Bulma had always home-schooled him before. And much to his chagrin, he was able to go to the same school as Goten, the only problem was he wouldn't be able to see him until lunch, because Trunks was one grade higher than Goten. So now he stood facing a classroom full of strangers. None of the realizing that he was the son of an alien prince, or that he helped save the world, or that his mother was a brilliant scientist, who he had just lost.  
  
The teacher looked down at the new student. "Tell the class your name please."  
  
"Um.Trunks Briefs."  
  
"And how old are you?"  
  
"Ten."  
  
"Do you have any hobbies, Trunks?"  
  
"Um.martial arts, I guess." He thought that sounded better than 'I like to fight.'  
  
"That's good. Now, take your seat up here in the front, and we'll start class."  
  
Trunks went to the desk and took out a pencil and some paper and put it on his desk like the other kids had done. The teacher started off explaining about fractions. Trunks already knew all about fractions from his mom, so he started to turn his attention to the posters that hung around the room. There was a poster on the food pyramid, another with the multiplication tables on it, and then one with the planets.  
  
'This is really going to be a boring year' he thought to himself. 'Maybe this is why Goten is so dumb.'  
  
The teacher started to pass out fraction worksheets, and a girl that set next to him turned to face him. She was blushing madly, and she said, "Hi, Trunks, I'm Sora, can you help me with my worksheet." She grinned at him and all the girls around her giggled and the boys snickered.  
  
"Um.sure," he said blushing a little, too.  
  
"You sure do say 'um' a lot," she giggled. All the other kids got into pairs and started doing the worksheet. She scooted her chair over towards him so that they were barely touching. "Now, what I don't get," she started to say looking at Trunks innocently, "is why one over two equals one half and not one seconds." Trunks sweatdropped, this was going to be a very long day.  
  
Finally lunch came, and Trunks bounded off to the cafeteria, hoping to find his best friend there. Sure enough, when he entered the large room after getting his hot lunch, he felt Goten's ki and saw him sitting in the far corner at a table all by himself, waving at him madly. Trunks skipped over in excitement and sat down next to his best friend.  
  
"Hey, Trunks, how do you like the school?" he asked grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"It's okay," Trunks lied. He started shoveling his food in his mouth.  
  
"Hey, what happened to your face," asked Goten, noticing the bruise on his cheek.  
  
Trunks choked on a little of his food. "Oh that," he started slowly, "that's just from sparring."  
  
"Oh, yeah," replied Goten, "you should see this one my brother gave me." He pulled up his sleeve to show Trunks a large purplish bruise on his forearm. Trunks sighed in relief, appreciating for once, his friend's gullibility.  
  
Trunks finished his food and stood up. "I'll be right back, Goten, I just got to go get some seconds."  
  
"But Trunks, you can't."  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"You can't get seconds, Trunks."  
  
Trunks slammed his tray back on the table. "Do you mean that this is all I get?" Goten nodded solemnly. "I'm going to starve to death," Trunks whined and banging his head on the table.  
  
"That's why I have my mom make me lunch." Goten took out a capsule and opened it to reveal just about enough food to feed a small demi-saiyan lunch. (In other words: a lot!)  
  
"Can I have some, Goten?" Trunks asked his friend putting on a puppy dog face. "O negai shimasu."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Oh, come on Goten, remember all those times you would come over to my house and I would give you food."  
  
Goten sighed in defeat. "Fine, you can have a little." The two continued stuffing their faces until.  
  
"Hi Trunks."  
  
For the second time Trunks choked on his food. "Oh.hi, Sora," he said rather unenthusiastically.  
  
"So who's this?" Goten asked.  
  
"Oh, Goten this is Sora, Sora, this is my friend Goten." Trunks introduced them.  
  
Sora smiled at Goten. "I'm his girlfriend." Trunks choked on his food again.  
  
"Wow, Trunks never told me he had a girlfriend," Goten responded to Sora. He then looked at his friend, who was bright red and shaking his head furiously. "Man, Trunks, I think that with you hanging around your dad so much, you forgot how to chew." He then encapsulated the empty dishes and got up from the table. "The fourth graders have to go back to class, now, but meet me at the front after school's out. And have fun with your girlfriend." He winked at Trunks and then ran out of the cafeteria with the other fourth graders.  
  
Trunks turned his gaze from Goten to Sora and just glared at her. She just smiled back, but then went back to a table of girls when he didn't stop his glare. At that time, a group of boys from Trunks class came and sat down at the table with them. The leaned over towards him and looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot. Trunks was curious about all the secrecy and gave them a questioning look.  
  
"Hey," whispered one of the boys, "are you the kid that won the junior championship at the World Martial Arts Tournament a couple years back?"  
  
Trunks nodded, "Yeah, so?"  
  
Immediately all the boys eyes lit up and wide smiles crossed their faces. "And then you beat up Mr. Satan really easily," remarked one boy.  
  
"And you were like flying through the air throughout your match," said another.  
  
"And you made your hair turn gold, too!"  
  
"You're one of the golden fighters aren't you?"  
  
Trunks smirked and then nodded his head. The boys looked as if they had just won a million zenni.  
  
"That is sooo cool," said one.  
  
"Totally awesome," said another.  
  
"Incredible."  
  
Just then the bell for the fifth graders rang and they got up to leave. The group of boys walked out with Trunks to their classroom. "Hey, I bet your really good at sports, if I'm a captain in gym today, I'm going to pick you to be on my team. Have you ever played soccer?" asked one of the boys.  
  
"Um, no," replied Trunks, blushing a little at the notion that he has never actually played sports besides fighting.  
  
"That's okay, it's really easy to play, and lots of fun."  
  
Gym was at the end of the day, and sure enough, the boy was picked to be captain and he had picked Trunks to be on his team. Trunks was just glad that he wasn't on the same team as Sora. They started playing and Trunks just tried to stay away from the ball because he didn't want to hit it too hard and draw too much attention to himself, but the game was drawing to a close and his team was losing and the boys weren't talking to him anymore because they knew he wasn't trying very hard.  
  
Trunks was standing in the middle of the gym trying not to look at Sora who was the goalie for the other team and kept smiling and waving to him. The soccer ball then rolled right in front of Trunks feet. "Shoot, Trunks!" yelled the boys from behind him, he could here the other team running towards him to try and get the ball from him, but there was nobody in front of him. Deciding to try and help his team win, Trunks pulled back his right foot and kicked the ball towards the goal.  
  
SMACK  
  
The ball had hit Sora straight in the face and with a lot of force, slamming her into the hardwood floor, and breaking her nose. Trunks bit his lip and felt a wave of guilt flood over him as the teacher and the whole class ran over to Sora (who's face was now entirely covered in blood) to see if she was alright. They flashed him dirty looks as the ran past him, and the captain walked up to him, "Geez, Trunks, you didn't have to it THAT hard." He then turned his back on him and ran over with the rest. He heard some people mutter 'Freak' under their breath as they kept glaring at him. Trunks slumped his shoulders and hung his head in shame. There went any hope for him to make new friends.  
  
Goten meet Trunks after their classes in the front of the school, just like they had said. "Hey, Trunks," called Goten happily, "Did you have a good day?"  
  
"It sucked," he simply replied. Goten frowned at his friend's negative attitude. "Come on, let's go to my place. I just want to get away from here."  
  
They made sure no one was watching and then they lifted into the air, and flew to Trunks' apartment. They landed on the balcony and went inside. "Otosan, I'm home," Trunks called. After a few seconds Vegeta came walking into the room. "Is it okay if Goten hangs out for awhile?" he asked. Vegeta nodded.  
  
"How was your day at school?" Vegeta grunted, trying not to act too fatherly.  
  
Trunks opened his mouth but Goten cut him off. "Trunks has a girlfriend," he said quickly.  
  
"I do not!" Trunks objected. Vegeta raised his eyebrows and gave him a questioning look.  
  
"Really? And how come I wasn't informed of this?" he asked smirking.  
  
"She isn't my girlfriend! She just said she was. Besides, even if she was, she wouldn't want to be anymore," he cast his eyes down and stared at the floor.  
  
"Why not," asked Goten, "did she find another boy?"  
  
"No." responded Trunks hesitantly, "it's just that I kinda brokernose."  
  
"What did you say?" asked Goten.  
  
"I said, I broke her nose!"  
  
"NANI?" yelled Vegeta running over to his son. "You hit a girl?"  
  
"I didn't hit her!" he retaliated. "We were just playing soccer, and she was the goalie, and I went to make a goal and I kinda kicked the ball into her face," he looked down at his shoes in shame, and then hesitantly looked back up at his father who had surprisingly not said anything yet. His face was open and he was staring back at his son in awe. Usually Trunks was careful about his strength, nothing like this had ever happened before, he wasn't sure what to do. Bulma would have called up her parents and apologized, but come on, this was the Prince of all Saiyans, he wasn't about to go apologize to some humans because their daughter was weak.  
  
Goten was a taken a back by Vegeta's reaction as well (who was still standing there with his mouth open and a lost look on his face). "Did you hit her hard?"  
  
"What kind of stupid question is that?" asked Trunks. "Of course I hit her hard or else I wouldn't have broken her nose. There was blood everywhere, too. And the teachers told me I wasn't allowed to go to gym class for the rest of the week."  
  
"Well then it seems like that's settled," Vegeta finally said, then he walked off towards a kitchen and started digging through the fridge.  
  
Trunks and Goten stayed standing there in silence for awhile, until Trunks decided to leave the day's issues behind. "So you want to see my little sister?" he asked.  
  
"Sure!" responded Goten. They ran over into Bra's room where the found her in her crib awake. Her big blue eyes were open and she giggled when she saw her older brother and his friend leaning over her. "Wow, she's gotten bigger," remarked Goten as Trunks carefully picked her up and then carried her back out into the living room with Goten trailing behind. They sat on the couch together as Trunks laid Bra down in his lap, and Goten started to tickle her.  
  
"Did you and papa have fun without me, today?" Trunks jokingly asked his baby sister.  
  
"Oh loads," came the gruff voice from behind them. "She ate lots and then decided to spit up all over her papa, and then she spit up all over her papa again, and then after I changed shirts she spit up all over her papa again."  
  
"Imagine that," said Trunks turning to face his father. "The prince of all Saiyans covered in baby spit."  
  
"Sounds like fun," injected Goten. "I love babies, I can't wait til Gohan and Videl have one after they get married." He paused and then added, "You guys are coming to Gohan's wedding next week, right?"  
  
"It's next week already?" asked Trunks.  
  
"Uh huh, next Saturday, are you coming?"  
  
Trunks turned his head to his father who was digging through the fridge in the kitchen. "Hey, Otosan, are we going to Gohan's wedding?"  
  
Vegeta stood up and furrowed his brow. "That is coming up, isn't it. Well, I don't know."  
  
"Please, Otosan," begged Trunks giving his father a puppy dog face.  
  
"Come on, Uncle Vegeta, you have to come. Gohan would be so disappointed if you didn't. Isn't it the duty of a prince to go to his loyal subjects weddings. And, of course, there is going to be lots of good food." Every reason was making Vegeta consider the matter more and more, but the last one made it final. He hadn't had hoards of good food in a while, and a demi-saiyan's wedding would be just the place to find that, especially with Kakarot's harpy mate (who he hated to admit, could cook wonderfully).  
  
Vegeta smirked. "Why not," he said. "You tell your brother that we'll be there, and we'll be hungry."  
  
"Woo hoo!" shouted Trunks throwing his arms in the air. "I haven't had fun in a long time."  
  
*Wow, that's a pretty long chapter for just one day in the life. Hope you enjoyed it, please review, and I'll try to update as soon as I can with school and stuff. Next chapter-Gohan's wedding (should be fun)* 


	10. Weddings and Reflections

*I know, it's about time, I just been busy, and I had a little writer's block there for a while. Anyway, I'm back again and kicking. Plus you get a present for waiting-about 1,500 extra words!!!! Hope you like this chapter, I had lots of ideas for it, but I just kept dismissing them, trying not to make the characters too OOC, plus I have my first flashback in here, so please tell me what you think of that. I got to go the anime con-Nan Desu Kan a couple weeks ago. It was really cool, and now I have my own little Trunks plushy to cuddle up with at night, so now I can sleep with Trunks! I know, I'm a loser. Please review, they mean a lot to me, and thank you to vegetagirlone for your very meaningful review, I appreciated it sooooo much.*  
  
Disclaimer-I do not, nor have ever owned the holy Dragonball Z saga, nor it's divine characters. I also don't own Linkin Park and their song "Faint" (one of the coolest songs in the world), nor the Righteous Brothers and their song "Unchained Melodies".  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Weddings and Reflections  
  
An orchestra filled the car followed by a fast-paced rap, the tune shouted out of the speakers and through the open windows, and then was silenced. "Aww, come on, Otosan, it was Linkin Park." Trunks whined as his father removed his hand from the car stereo's volume nob.  
  
"We don't need to listen to your rock music so loud that it shakes the car. Besides we're almost there." Trunks pouted and then turned his attention out the window to the passing cars. He stretched the collar of his dress shirt out, to breathe, and then decided to unbutton the top few buttons like his father had done. Vegeta and him both wore nice dress pants, and dress shirts with casual suit coats. Vegeta's shirt was a light blue and Trunks' shirt was a light green, and they both wore them untucked and with the top buttons undone.  
  
"Where did you get these clothes, anyway?" he asked his father finally.  
  
"I didn't. Your mother bought them back when Gohan first announced that they were getting married. She said we needed to dress up more." He looked over at his son, who was staring down at his shirt. He had that look on his face as if he wanted to ask his father something, but was too afraid to.  
  
"Why are you wearing the clothes if she's not around anymore to make you?" Asked Trunks, not lifting his head.  
  
Vegeta was a little surprised by the question, but answered it anyway. "I guess I just didn't want to put the clothes to waste. Besides, I think I look good in them." He smirked.  
  
Vegeta's last comment, however, made Trunks snap his head up. He looked hesitantly over at his father and asked him, "You aren't going to pick up chicks, are you?"  
  
"Nani?" asked Vegeta as he shot a glance towards Trunks, but tried to keep focused on the road.  
  
"Well, it's just that I heard somewhere that single guys like to pick up chicks at weddings. And, well, you're single now."  
  
"Trunks, I do not want to 'pick up chicks'," he sounded disgusted as he used the phrase. "Besides," he added quietly, "it's only been three months." A glazed look came over his face, and Trunks regretted asking the question, but there wasn't any time to fix it, they were already pulling into the parking lot.  
  
They were at a large white church, and in front of it stood a crowd of all their friends happily jabbering away. They parked the car and got out. Vegeta walked around to the back doors and pulled out Bra, sleeping in her carrier. He placed a blanket over the carrier, so not to let the bright sun disturb her slumber.  
  
Chi Chi looked over to see the threesome walking toward them. "Well look who made it!" she exclaimed. Vegeta couldn't help but smirk as he saw all the Z fighters in the crowd turn toward him and smile.  
  
"Oh, can I hold Bra. I want to see how much she's grown," squealed Chi Chi as she eyed the covered carrier.  
  
"Not now," grunted Vegeta. "She fell asleep in the car the way over here, and I'm hoping she'll just sleep through the ceremony."  
  
"I can't believe Gohan is actually getting married, he's still so young," said Yamcha.  
  
"Well, they really do grow up fast," said Chi Chi with a dreamy look in her eye.  
  
A wide smile spread across Krillen's face. "But this is great, guys. I love weddings, and I haven't been to one since Vegeta and Bulm." He stopped when he realized what he was saying and gave a hesitating glance towards Vegeta, who was just looking down at the ground trying not to start thinking about his wedding more than seven years ago.  
  
An uneasy silence fell over the group and everyone seemed to have their eyes on Vegeta. "So." Chi Chi slowly tried to break the uneasy silence. "Maybe, we should head inside. We should be starting soon." They all nodded in agreement and slowly filed into the chapel.  
  
Gohan was still standing in the back, with Goku right next to him. He saw Vegeta and smiled. "Hey, Vegeta-san, I am so glad you made it." He grabbed Vegeta's free hand in a sign, of their friendship.  
  
"Good luck," responded Vegeta. He then leaned closer so only Gohan could hear him and whispered, "you'll need it. It ain't easy being married." He squeezed his hand and then took his seat.  
  
Goten soon joined them, and him and Trunks started snickering as the ceremony began, and the priest decided to drone on about commitment. Vegeta couldn't help but let his mind wander at times like these. Thoughts kept crossing his mind like, "Why couldn't they just get the damned thing over with" or " wonder what everyone's reaction would be if I decided to just blast the priest for the hell of it."  
  
Vegeta was rudely interrupted from his thoughts, however, with the two terrors next to him, who kept snickering. He noticed that they happened to be zapping random flowers around the place with energy, and the flowers shriveling up into ashes. He leaned over towards Trunks and whispered to both of them. "I'd advise that you stop that now if you want to get out of here alive."  
  
They heeded the warning for the moment, but once they got bored again, they started all over again. Vegeta sighed, what could he say to make them stop? Chi Chi had started giving him threatening glares, and even he feared her cursed frying pan. He smirked as an idea struck him. He leaned back over towards them again, and this time, in his most threatening tone whispered, "You better cut that out now, or you'll get no food at the reception." Their eyes widened in horror, and they put their hands over their mouths quickly, to acknowledge that they understood. A wicked smile spread across Vegeta's lips as he saw their reactions. "I still got it," he thought to himself.  
  
The ceremony was over, and they were now at a large banquet hall inside Mr. Satan's manor. The place was done up spectacularly with decorations, and on one side of the hall, was a very long table, full of a ridiculous amount of food. Thus, there were five very happy Saiyans, scourging the table, and shoveling heaps of delicious food onto their plates.  
  
Vegeta returned to his table for the third time with plates of food, and set them on the table before him. Piccolo, who was sitting across from him just shook his head. "I'll never understand how you Saiyans can eat so much, and where you all put it."  
  
"It's used up right away in fighting," replied Vegeta. "Besides, Namek, I haven't had this good of food in a long time."  
  
"That's because the only thing you can make is eggs and grilled cheese," responded Trunks between chews. He had two plates, and both were full with every dessert imaginable.  
  
"I can grill steaks, too, you know, and don't eat so much sugar. You're wired enough as it is." Vegeta grabbed the plates from Trunks and put them on the other side of the table.  
  
"Awww, Papa, you never let me have desserts," whined Trunks.  
  
"You already had an entire plate, and you can't fight when you're loaded up with sugar."  
  
"You're no fun. Come on Goten, let's go have some fun." Trunks grabbed Goten's arm and dragged his friend away from his unfinished cake, leaving Vegeta and Piccolo alone. Vegeta sat down and started working on his heap o' meat. He ate rapidly, but not nearly as bad as Goku. Piccolo figured that because he was a prince, he was probably raised to use manners, unlike Goku, who was pretty much raised by the wild.  
  
"So how are you doing, Vegeta?" Piccolo asked.  
  
Vegeta glared daggers at him. "Why the hell do you want to know? Besides aren't you God, and see everything."  
  
"I was God. Dende is now," he said motioning with his head to where Dende was, dancing like a maniac with Mr. Popo. Vegeta rolled his eyes. "However, since I live on the lookout, I do know what goes on on Earth most the time. Like how Trunks got that bruise on his face."  
  
"And what are you going to do about it," asked Vegeta, slightly raising his ki to remind Piccolo who was the stronger one.  
  
"Nothing, but I will tell you to watch your temper sometimes, or else you might severely hurt them without meaning it, and I know Bulma wouldn't really appreciate you beating up her kids like that."  
  
Vegeta stood up quickly, almost knocking the table over. "Never fucking tell me what to do or not do," he said through gritted teeth. He then turned and stormed through the hall and violently threw open the doors leading outside.  
  
Krillen, who was walking by, stopped in his tracks, at Vegeta's departure. "Man, what was that all about?" He asked Piccolo.  
  
"He's just got some issues, that's all," replied Piccolo.  
  
"Tell me something I don't know."  
  
Vegeta was standing on the balcony outside the banquet hall, alone. The crisp, cool, night air felt good against his face after being inside with all the body heat. He could hear the music inside, muffled by the thick walls. A familiar slow song started up, and Vegeta let his mind wander, to his own wedding so long ago.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Vegeta, are you ever going to dance with me, it is our wedding." Vegeta turned to the beautiful woman sitting next to him. She wore a long white gown, and her hair was done up with daisies weaved through it. Her beautiful blue eyes penetrated his dark, cold ones, pleading with him.  
  
Vegeta grunted, "Why? You were dancing so well with our son." She pushed him jokingly with one hand and started giggling, as they looked over to see their small three-year old toddler sliding across the dance floor, and happily playing with a 12 year-old Gohan.  
  
She leaned in closer to him, and pressed her lips up against his ear. "But I want to dance with you," she said slowly in her most seductive voice. She kissed him gently on the cheek, and put her hand in his. "Come on," she said, standing up, "just one song."  
  
He finally gave in, and stood up with her and walked out onto the dance floor. With perfect timing, "Unchained Melodies" started softly. The crowd grew quiet, and the dance floor cleared for the odd couple. They stopped in the center, and Vegeta slid his right arm around her waist and took her right hand in his left. They started to move back and forth with the music, flowing together as if they were one.  
  
"You never told me you were such a good dancer," stated Bulma, smirking the same way her now-husband had taught her.  
  
He smirked back. "Of course, I am a prince after all."  
  
"And I would bet that there would be all these magnificent balls at your palace, and princesses would come from all over the galaxy, just to dance with you." She was glad, that for one time, he was not paying attention to all the people in the room watching him, but to her, and only her.  
  
"But of course. After all I was the hottest prince this side of the north Quadrant." He broke out into a full smile and winked at her.  
  
"You were hot at the age of six?" she questioned him, raising an eyebrow.  
  
He let out a frustrated sigh, annoyed that she had found an error in his story. "O.k., so maybe I wasn't so hot."  
  
"I bet you were cute."  
  
A disgusted look flashed across his face. "You know I hate that word."  
  
She faked an innocent look. "Oh really, the prince of a barbaric race detesting the word 'cute'. Besides, you're still cute, you know." He furrowed his eyebrows and stared back at her. "Like when you make that face." She leaned in and quickly pecked him on the lips, then gently laid her head on his firm chest. "So tell me about these princesses, were any as beautiful as me?"  
  
"Not really. I mean most of them had green skin or three heads."  
  
She popped her head up and let out a laugh in defiance. "Yeah, right," she said playfully."  
  
He stared back at her, and Bulma could have sworn that at that instant, she had seen a twinkle in his eye. "Besides, what does it matter now that I have the best one for my queen?" He then pulled her close, and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.  
  
Everyone around them broke out into applause, and some started to whistle. Vegeta pulled apart quickly from Bulma, and blushed furiously. How could he have forgotten all these people were here? He completely destroyed his pride.  
  
Bulma put her hand on his red-hot cheek, and turned his head to look into her eyes. "Don't worry about it, Vegeta. Besides, I really enjoyed it."  
  
He thought about the form of thanks he would be getting for it later that night, and a small smile graced his lips. "You better have, Woman, because that's the last time it's happening."  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
He took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. He had become so highstrung, after her death, that even though he tried not to lash out in frustration, he always felt like he would just fall apart. There were so many emotions he had always tried to bury, how could they cause him so much anguish?  
  
The slow serenade had come to an end, and was now replaced by an upbeat tune. He continued to stare out into the night, trying to feel like he was once again up there with the stars. The music suddenly increased, and some indistinct conversations were heard, but were quickly squelched. The door had been opened, and he could feel that he was no longer alone.  
  
He turned his head to see Gohan, smiling back at him in his tux. The younger Saiyan walked up next to Vegeta and followed his gaze up into the stars. "I really am glad you came, Vegeta-san. I've always regarded you like an uncle."  
  
"Always?" responded Vegeta, turning to face him. "I think I remember you once saying I smelled like toenails."  
  
Gohan couldn't help but laugh. He put his hand on the back of his hand and grinned. "Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I?" He calmed down, and tried to look more serious. "But that was a long time ago, and everyone knows you're different now."  
  
Vegeta just grunted and turned back to staring at the night sky.  
  
There was a pregnant pause, before Gohan started talking again. "We were looking for you not too long ago. Bra started crying, but Okasan and Videl are taking care of her. They both really like her, and I know Videl really likes kids." Vegeta knew where this was going. "Hey, Vegeta, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did Bulma die?" There was another moment of silence, before Gohan decided to elaborate. "I mean, I know she died of childbirth, but.why?"  
  
"You don't want the same thing to happen to Videl, do you?" asked Vegeta, looking at the young man through the corner of his eye.  
  
Gohan only nodded.  
  
Vegeta reverted his gaze back to the sky, and took a deep breath. "It was natural for Saiyan women to die from childbirth, because Saiyan babies were very hard to carry. My own mother died after giving birth to me, and it was seen as a complement to the child, because it meant that it was strong. You and the others were only half-Saiyan, so it wasn't nearly as difficult, but still much more than normal human babies. Your mother is a very strong woman physically and was fairly young when she had you and your brother. Bulma wasn't as strong.physically, so it was harder on her, but she was still young when she had Trunks. She was older, however, when she became pregnant with Bra. I expressed my concern, but she wanted to go through with it anyway. The actual pregnancy was very hard for her, and the birthing process was too much."  
  
He took a deep breath again, and then looked over towards Gohan. His face held no emotion, but Gohan looked past it and saw the pain hidden in his cold eyes. "Videl is very physically strong, more so than most humans, and if you have a child it would only be one quarter Saiyan, and you don't face the risk as much. If you do, do it while she's still fairly young, it will be easier on her."  
  
Gohan tried to give Vegeta a reassuring smile. He knew that was probably very hard for him, and Vegeta rarely told so much. "Thank you, Vegeta. I know that must been hard for you."  
  
Vegeta grunted.  
  
The sound from the hall behind them increased as the door was opened once again. "There you are Gohan, I was looking for you." Videl walked up behind him, and put her arms around his neck. "Everyone's getting ready to go."  
  
Gohan turned around and grabbed Videl's hand. They started walking back towards the rest of the party, when Gohan turned around to see Vegeta still hadn't moved. "Hey, Vegeta, are you coming?"  
  
Vegeta was still staring at the sky and seemed a little caught off guard. "Hai," he responded and followed them back into the hall.  
  
When he entered he found Chi Chi sitting in his seat playing with Bra. She was holding her up and pretending to bounce her up and down on her lap. When she saw Vegeta coming toward her, she turned Bra towards him. "Oh look, here comes your Papa," she said in her baby voice. When she saw her father, Bra smiled and held her arms out to Vegeta, who then took her into his arms.  
  
"Ahh, see she like her Papa," continued Chi Chi in her baby voice. She then switched back to her regular voice, and stood up to give Vegeta back his place. "She woke up so I took her out of her carrier. I hope you don't mind."  
  
Vegeta just shook his head. Trunks ran up to his father and started jumping up and down and talking really fast. "Otosan, Otosan, me and Goten were break dancing to the music, and then we were sliding across the floors and then spinning around in circles and then runningaroundlikechickenswithourheadscutoffandhidingundertablesandifyou arereadingthisrightnowyouhavenolifeseriouslystopreadingthisithasabsolutelyno thingtodowiththeplotofthestory."  
  
"Yeah, you've really had too much sugar, Trunks." Commented Vegeta after losing track of his son's superfast conversation. "Now let's head home before you pass out from hyperglycemia."  
  
They were saying their goodbyes and congratulations to everyone else, when a very drunk Roshi swaggered his way towards them. He collapsed onto Vegeta, holding himself up with his hand on Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta just stood there in shock, thinking "why is this old pervert touching me?!"  
  
"Man, Vegeta," started Roshi, slurring his words, "these things just aren't the same without that hot Bulma chick dancing around in those skimpy little dresses of hers."  
  
POW  
  
Roshi now laid unconscience on the floor, with a very large bruise on his face. Krillen walked by, and saw him lying there, looked up at Vegeta and asked, "What happened to Master Roshi?"  
  
"Trust me," replied a very angry Vegeta, "he deserved it." Krillen just shrugged and walked off.  
  
Trunks trudged up the stairs to the apartment behind his father. He stopped to yawn and rub his eyes. "So tired," he mumbled.  
  
"That's what happens when you have sugar. You get really hyper, and then you get worn out and tired." They turned down their hall and Vegeta unlocked the door and opened it waiting for Trunks, who was dragging his feet. "You need more carbohydrates, and that's what you'll be having for breakfast tomorrow because we're going to train."  
  
"Awww, I don't want to train," whined Trunks.  
  
"Too bad, we are. Now clean up and get some rest, so your not dragging your feet tomorrow like you are now." Trunks just stomped his feet to his room, and slammed the door (but not too hard, otherwise he would of broken the poor door). Vegeta changed Bra, and then put her to bed, then checked to see that Trunks was under his covers before turning off all the lights, and retiring to his room.  
  
He took a quick shower before climbing into his small bed. The bed was cold, and he lay there staring at the ceiling for a while. He then turned over, extending his arm to reach for the other side of the bed. All he found was emptiness. He clenched his hand into a fist, and pulled it back towards him, silently cursing himself for forgetting that he now slept alone.  
  
*There it is, I hope you liked it. Please review, and I'll try to update within the next year or two (just kidding()* 


	11. Sparring, Strangers, and Scary Movies

*Here we go again. I've been extremely busy with work which means I have less time to type up my story, but more time to think it up while I organize ribbon at my craft store! (I also get money, but that just means more anime for me!) Anyways, I originally planned to have more stuff in this chapter, but I had to split it up, because in the spirit of the coming holiday I kind of deviated off the plot (or the closest thing to a plot I have in this story). So consider this my Halloween special, but there is important stuff in it. You can ignore the beginning, there's nothing special about that. Sorry for the changes from serious to non-serious to serious to non-serious, I think I might be schizo. Review as always and have a happy Halloween. And be safe, kindas!*  
  
Disclaimer: I own not DBZ, Veggie Tales, nor all the other copyrighted shit I used in this fanfiction. And if you try to sue me, I'll make Trunks blast you to the next dimension (because I own him)  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Sparring, Strangers, and Scary Movies  
  
Trunks tried in vain to block the onslaught of kicks and punches that were being sent his way. Sweat ran down his face, stinging as it went in his cuts, and soaking his shirt so that it stuck to his skin underneath. He started to feel dizzy from exhaustion, and he started wheezing as his muscles screamed for more oxygen. A fist smashed into his jaw, and he fell to the ground in defeat.  
  
After he hit the ground a small smile escaped his lips. The grass was unbelievably cool, and soft, and felt good to lay down in. The cool autumn air blew across his face, and over his wounds, soothing them. He enjoyed this more then falling onto the hard floor of the gravity room, like when he would train before. But they had no gravity room now so it took more effort to get a decent workout, but more enjoyable to fight outside in the open.  
  
He let himself fall out of super saiyan, and Vegeta landed on the ground next to him. "Are you done?" he asked bending down to make sure Trunks was still conscience. Trunks nodded his head then slowly sat up. He pulled his wet shirt over his head, in order to help him cool off faster. True the temperature was only 55 F (14 C), but after working out that hard who wouldn't be hot? His muscles were starting to show more now that he was older. He was growing a lot, too. He had grown a couple inches already after his mother's death, and it was starting to show with his clothes, which were now too small for him.  
  
Trunks' eyes wandered around the valley where they had been conducting their training sessions. The trees' leaves were now changing color, and had started to gather in piles underneath the boughs. He watched as his father now continued his training session alone. Moving at a very fast pace around the opening, and doing multiple kicks here, throwing punches there, then back-handsprings until he started his little routine over again.  
  
Slowly Trunks got to his feet and walked over to the blanket where his little sister lay on her stomach. She had on a little jacket and hat, and was staring at a big bumblebee that had landed on the blanket in front of her. She started to pull herself towards it on her stomach, reaching out to touch it. Trunks picked her up to keep her from getting stung, and then sat down and placed her in his lap. She pouted from having her big brother ruining her fun, and struggled to get out of his grip. He held on, and grabbed a water bottle. They sat there for another hour until Vegeta finally decided to end his training regimin, and then they flew off back towards their home in silence.  
  
Trunks was in the bathroom, washing out his cuts, and putting ice packs on his bruises. He didn't look too good all beat up, and his teachers had started asking questions. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had a black eye, his lip was split and he had a large gash by his eyebrow. His father had finally realized how much training Trunks had lost, while letting him get over his mother, and now he intended to make sure all that time was made up by pushing Trunks to the limit.  
  
He walked into the main room and sat down at his seat at the table, and waited for his father to finish dinner. After a few minutes, Vegeta walked in from the balcony, carrying two plates piled high with steaks.  
  
"We're having steaks, again?" whined Trunks.  
  
"Shut up, and enjoy it," snapped Vegeta, "When I was your age, they wouldn't give us food, they would just inject us with nutrients and let our stomachs rumble." Trunks had his head down and was mouthing the same words. He had heard his father's "I used to be a slave speech" too many times, and was starting to get sick of it. Vegeta saw this and was the none too pleased. "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?" he yelled.  
  
Trunks jumped from the sheer volume of his father's voice. " Sorry, Otosan," Trunks mumbled, still staring down at the empty table.  
  
"What?" asked Vegeta.  
  
Trunks looked up and half-yelled, "I said I was sorry." He tried to stare down his father, but there were few people in the entire universe who could take on the Prince of all Saiyans in a stare-down contest, and Trunks dropped his eyes.  
  
"Good," said Vegeta simply, and he sat down in his chair and put one of the plates in front of Trunks, and the other in front of him. Trunks started to shovel the food into his mouth. Sure he wasn't happy that it was the same thing night after night, but after the rigorous training session, he was famished. And hey, a super saiyan's got to eat.  
  
After their eating had started to slow down, Trunks decided to try and get some kind of conversation out of his dad. "Hey, Otosan," asked Trunks hesitantly and dropping any despise he had earlier.  
  
"What," snapped Vegeta.  
  
Trunks just swallowed. "I was just wondering if we could go shopping. All my fall and winter clothes from last year are too small for me this year, and I really need pants and stuff."  
  
"Your shorts still fit, right?"  
  
"Well, yeah."  
  
"Then wear those."  
  
"But it's going to be winter soon," protested Trunks, "I'll be cold."  
  
"You're a saiyan, you can stand the cold."  
  
"But," started Trunks.  
  
Vegeta just shot him a cold glare clearly telling him that the conversation was over, for now. A soft cry broke their silence. Vegeta let out a frustrated sigh and then got up and went into Bra's room. Trunks just sat their, stirring his food with his fork, and staring at his battered knuckles, slowly oozing blood. His father had beaten him up during training sessions before, but ever since that time he smacked him in the face, Trunks wondered if his father wanted to hit him, and enjoyed beating him up during training sessions. He then started to wonder if he deserved to be beaten up. 'Maybe he just hates me,' he thought. He went into his room, took out his headphones, and lay on his bed listening to the music softly playing in his ears.  
  
Vegeta was carrying Bra back into the kitchen, when he noticed Trunks in his room. He stopped briefly and stared at his son lying on his bed. Trunks' eyes were closed, but he opened them and saw his father standing in his doorway out of the corner of his eye. Once Vegeta saw tTrunks looking at him he left. 'I wonder what that was all about,' thought Trunks to himself. He just shrugged it off, closed his eyes again and went back to listening to his music.  
  
Leaves blew over the roads in the cold night, with a full moon basking the city in its glow. The night was not quiet and still like it usually was, but instead bustling with activity and loud with laughter and screams. An older lady heard her doorbell ring and smiled to herself as she got up from her couch and went to the front door with a large bowl of candy. She opened her door to the habitual "Trick or Treat" and looked down to see two young boys in what looked to be training gis.  
  
Trunks and Goten smiled up at the older lady and held out their bags. "And what are you two supposed to be," the lady asked hesitantly.  
  
"We're saiyans," piped Goten, a wide smile spreading across his face and a large pillowcase held out.  
  
The lady look puzzeled, wondering what the hell were saiyans. She figured they were just making something up to try and get free candy without dressing up, and she started wondering if she could give them any candy at all.  
  
Trunks, sensing her hesitation, turned around and pulled something out from the wagon they were pulling behind them. He turned around and held up his little sister, in just her normal clothes, and said, "and she's our prisoner."  
  
"Awwwwwwwwwwww," said the lady in a baby voice, "aren't you just the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Oh, you are such a cutie pie. Here have some candy," and with that she poured all the contents of the bowl into Trunks' and Goten's sacks.  
  
"Thank you," replided Trunks and Goten simultaneously, with a very large grin on their faces. Trunks returned his baby sister into the wagon, and they turned around and skipped down the street. Once they were far enough away, Trunks burst out laughing.  
  
"See, Goten, I told you we would get more candy if we brought Bra along." Trunks said to his friend and started stuffing his face with candy.  
  
"Does your dad realize how much candy we're getting? I mean I know he doesn't like you having too much sugar, Trunks," asked Goten in between chews, as he attempted to down his entire bag of candy all at once.  
  
"Ahh that's just because bad things happen to fragile items whenever I have sugar. No big deal." He closed his bag, deciding to save the rest for later. "Besides I'll just hide it when I get home."  
  
They walked along from house to house pulling Bra behind them in a wagon. Soon their stomachs were full and so were their pillowcases. They decided to go to one more house before they called it a night.  
  
They rang the doorbell, and a tall lady with long, curly brown hair answered the door. A wide smile spread across her face as she saw the boys in front of her. "Trick or Treat," yelled Goten, but Trunks just looked down trying to hide his face, but it didn't work.  
  
"Well hello, Trunks," said the lady warmly bending down to meet the demi- saiyan at eye level. "Are you having fun trick or treating tonight?"  
  
"Hi Miss Naru," he mumbled as a tinge of red flushed his cheeks. Goten looked back and forth between the lady and Trunks wondering what their connection was.  
  
"Is this your little sister that you brought with you?" She asked sweetly.  
  
Trunks just nodded.  
  
"And are you Goten?" she asked turning to his spikey haired friend.  
  
"Yup," said Goten all excited now because she seemed to know his name.  
  
"And what are you boys supposed to be?" she wondered noticing their lack of effort on their costumes.  
  
"We're saiyans and Bra's our."  
  
"Shut up, Goten," yelled Trunks quickly. Goten stopped talking and looked at Trunks hurt. "It's not nice to lie, you know," he said bitterly at him and then turned to Miss Naru. "We're just. . . the karate kid, yeah, that's all, nothing special."  
  
"Well that's nice," she replied. "You know it's getting pretty late, won't your father be a little worried, does he know your out."  
  
"Yes, but we can handle being out alone, he doesn't worry."  
  
"Yeah, and we're really strong, so no one can beat us up, except for probably our dads," added Goten. Trunks elbowed him in the side. "Owww, what was that for," whinned Goten.  
  
"Well we should probably be going, since it's late and all," said Trunks  
  
"But I haven't given you any candy yet," she said a bit confused.  
  
"That's okay, we have enough as it is." Trunks said quickly. He turned around and half ran down the walk leading up to the house, pulling his sister behind him. He turned back around at the end to see that Goten was still standing on the doorstep, with a dumb, puzzeled look on his face. "Come on, Goten, we have to go home," he called back. Goten then walked up towards him and they headed back to Trunks' place.  
  
A lot of the trick or treaters had gone back home because it was getting late, so now the streets were a little empty, with older kids lurking in the shadows waiting to do mischief. Trunks wasn't looking back at Goten, he knew Goten was going to ask him why he knew Miss Naru, and why he wanted to leave. After Goten didn't say anything, Trunks started to wonder why and glanced over his shoulder. Goten was looking down at the ground and tears were streaming down his face. Trunks stopped and turned to face his friend. "What's wrong, Goten?" he asked, a little confused.  
  
"Why did you tell that lady I was lying?" He sniffed, and looked at Trunks with hurt eyes. "Why did you keep yelling at me, I was just saying what we told all the other people, you were the one that was lying, not me."  
  
Trunks was taken a back by Goten's anger towards him. "It doesn't matter Goten, it's no big deal. I just thought that our story was silly, and you didn't need to go telling her, okay."  
  
"It is a big deal to me, Trunks. You called me a lier, and I'm not a lier, Trunks, okay. And you shouldn't of lied either!" Goten yelled.  
  
"Gee, I'm sorry Goten, I didn't think it would hurt your feelings so much," he said it a little rudely, but it still cheered Goten up, and he stopped crying. "Now let's go back to my place so we can watch those scary movies, that your mother wouldn't let us watch." Goten burst out into a grin, and nodded, and the headed back home skipping, forgetting about the akward situation that was just had, for now at least.  
  
The demi-saiyans were set. They had their blankets and pillows laid out on the floor, they were in their pajamas, they had their large bowl of popcorn, they had their candy hiding in the pillowcases of their pillows, and they had a stack of scary movies of which they had "borrowed" out of Gohan's room for the night. Everything was set.  
  
"Now I'm not going to have to keep telling you brats to shut up all night, am I?" Vegeta asked sternly. He wasn't too keen on the idea of letting his son and Kakarot's spawn stay up all night watching horror flicks.  
  
"No, Otosan," Trunks was getting annoyed by his father's unwillingless to leave them alone. He wanted him to just go to his room and let them mess around and eat candy and be rambunctious the whole nightlong. This he knew was never going to happen.  
  
"Fine, just don't come running to me if you get scared, and if you blast the T.V. out of habit, I'm not buying a new one." Trunks and Goten nodded while rolling their eyes, and Vegeta finally stalked off to leave them alone to their own mayhem. Trunks grinned wickedly and turned to Goten while starting to eat more candy he had just pulled out of his pillowcase. "So, Goten, what do we have for our viewing pleasure this evening?"  
  
Goten just looked at him dumbfoundly.  
  
"That means what movies did you bring us, baka," Trunks snapped.  
  
"Ohhhhhh," said Goten then rummaged through the pile of movies he had brought over. "Well, we have The Shining."  
  
"Mmhm," smiled Trunks.  
  
"The Ring."  
  
"Oooooo"  
  
"Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Titanic, hey I didn't knew Gohan had this."  
  
"Gohan has Titanic, now that's scary!"  
  
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Birds, Child's Play, and Scary Movie."  
  
"Scary Movie isn't a scary movie dimwit."  
  
"It isn't, but then why do they call it Scary Movie if it's not a scary movie?"  
  
"Because they just make fun of scary movies, that's why."  
  
"Ohhhh, I get it," said Goten, but not really getting it at all. "So what movie should we watch first?"  
  
"I don't know let's start with.Child's Play! Yeah, that'll be good!"  
  
About two hours later  
  
"Trunks," whimpered Goten from underneath his blankets.  
  
"Yeah, Goten," responded Trunks, sounding pretty normal.  
  
"I'm scared."  
  
"Oh come on Goten, it wasn't that scary, besides we've seen much worse. I mean you saw your mom get turned into an egg and get stepped on, they can't get more traumatizing then that."  
  
"I know, but if a big pink monster can pop out of an egg and try to kill us, how do we know that one of our dolls won't come to life and try to kill us."  
  
Trunks paled a little and responded very shakily, "You know you have a point. This could be real, and my toys might start attacking us at any moment!"  
  
"You know what we'll have to do," said Goten finally coming out from underneath his blankets. "We are going to have to get them, before they get to us."  
  
"Yeah," agreed Trunks, as he made his hands into fists and started getting excited for battle. "Let's destroy," he smirked saddisticly, looking a lot like his father.  
  
"Great, so we'll start in your room, then we'll move onto Bra's room, then we'll go to your dad's room!"  
  
"Goten, my dad doesn't have any toys."  
  
"How do you know, Trunks? He might sleep with a doll that looks just like Chucky, and he could mess with your stove when you're not watching, and make your apartment blow up when you least expect it."  
  
"Sure, whatever, Goten." The boys tip toed to Trunk's room, and slowly pushed open the door and started looking for any action figures, stuffed animals, or whatever that could suddenly come to life. Goten was going through Trunks' closet, when he pulled out what looked to be a stuffed pickle with a big happy face on it.  
  
"Hey, Trunks, what's this?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, Krillen, 18, and Marron gave that to me for my birthday. It's supposed to be some cucumber from those Veggie Tales movies."  
  
"Hmmm," said Goten, studying it. "Hey, if you gave him antenaes, then he would kinda look like Piccolo-san."  
  
"Hey you're right." The boys started to giggle until Goten accidentally squeezed the stuffed cucumber he was holding. The cucumber suddenly started flashing lights, and shaking in Goten's hand as it giggled maniacly in a high pitched, menacing tone.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,"  
  
screamed the two boys silmultaneously. Goten threw the possessed toy onto the floor and they sprinted out of Trunks room and ran into Vegeta's room as fast as a little super saiyan could travel (which is very fast).  
  
Vegeta was suddenly jolted awake by the loud screams and looked over to see two large, quivering lumps underneath his covers. "What the hell are you two idiots doing?"  
  
"Protect us, Uncle Vegeta, o-negai shimasu, the pickle thing wants to kill us," Goten whimpered pathetically, still hiding underneath the covers.  
  
Vegeta just rolled his eyes. He should have never let them watch those movies. He got up out of his bed, and in one clean motion, yanked the covers clean off the bed to expose the frightened boys shaking in their pajamas. He just glared at them. "Get out," he said.  
  
"Oh come on Otosan, can we just please sleep in your room tonight," begged Trunks as he got into a sitting position on his father's bed.  
  
"Hmmm, let me think about this, NO! Now I let you boys stay up and you told me that you wouldn't get scared. You said you were brave warriors, but you have proved to me you're not. You two should be ashamed of yourselves. You are two of the strongest fighters on this planet, probably in the universe, and you're cowering because of some stupid make-believe you saw on that T.V. of yours!" Trunks bowed his head in shame. He never liked it when he ashamed his father.  
  
"But Uncle Vegeta, the dolls will come to life and get us." started Goten.  
  
"BULLSHIT BRAT," screamed Vegeta, making Goten flinch, "there are no such things. Now act like a saiyan and go sleep by yourselves!" Trunks and Goten exchanged glances, then got off the bed and walked slowly out the door. Vegeta glared at them the whole way out, and when the door closed behind them, he threw the covers back on his bed and climbed in, grumbling about "brats" and "never being able to get any sleep".  
  
Once they were in the hall, Goten turned towards his friend, "Trunks?"  
  
"Yeah, Goten?" He whispered back.  
  
"I don't think anything in those movies are scarier than your dad."  
  
"Ain't it the truth, Goten."  
  
*Next time on VOHO, Parent-Teacher conferences at Trunks' school! Find out if Vegeta actually goes, and will Trunks and Goten ever be able to look at a cucumber again? Will Vegeta find Trunks' candy? And most importantly, who is this Miss Naru, how does she know Trunks, and why must I name all my original characters after other characters in different animes? Until then REVIEW and tell me what you think.* 


	12. A NotSoGood Report

*Gomen nasai, I know that it's been a long time. I've been busy not to mention a bunch of writer's blocks, but here it finally is, my next chapter! So since you've all been waiting so long, I'll spare you my ramblings and just get on with the story!*  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Dragonball Z nor it's characters, though I do I have a giant Trunks wall scroll hanging in my room.  
  
Vegeta On His Own  
  
Chapter 12  
  
A Not-So-Good Report  
  
"So your only homework tonight class are those ten math problems and reading the first chapter of "The Phantom Tollbooth". See you tomorrow, class," Ms. Wakumoto yelled to the class as they rushed out the classroom's door. Trunks took his time to put all his stuff back into his backpack and started to trudge out of the room, when his teacher stopped him. "Wait a minute, Trunks, I'd like a word with you."  
  
She sat down behind her desk and took her glasses off and laid them upside down on the stack of graded papers. Trunks hesitated, but then turned towards her desk, and walked to the front of it. She looked up at him, and he just glared at her. She rolled her eyes. "Trunks, your father wasn't at parent's night last night. Did you tell him about it like you were supposed to?"  
  
"By all means, Wakumoto-san, I think you've already gone past your "word"."  
  
"Just answer the question, Trunks, and for once stop acting like a know-it-all."  
  
Trunks bit his lip. "No I didn't." He then added softly "It's not like he would have come anyway."  
  
Ms. Wakumoto took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves, and then her expression changed to a softer one. Even though she was an exceedingly strict teacher, she still cared for her students, and always wanted the best for them. "Look, Trunks, I really need to talk with your father. I guess it's best that he didn't come last night with all the other parents because I would like to talk to him alone."  
  
"Why!" Trunks hastily interjected.  
  
"It's nothing to worry about, Trunks. It's just that you're a new student here and I'd like to make sure my student's parents are following along with their academic career. I just would like to meet with your father and discuss your schooling.er.habits. Understood?" Trunks looked down at his feet and nodded slightly. "I'd like to meet with him tomorrow evening, around seven. Can you tell him that for me?" Trunks nodded again. "Good, and I'd like a written note from him saying he can attend, otherwise I will call him to notify him of the conference."  
  
"Hai, Wakumoto-san," Trunks responded finally looking up at her.  
  
"Good. Then I will see you tomorrow." Trunks started to walk out of the room. "And have a good afternoon," she called after him as he left the building.  
  
Trunks sat in front of the TV jabbing away at the controller while watching his computer graphic character throw punches and kick at its opponent. He was losing, and badly. His mind was on if his father would really go to the meeting, and what they would talk about there. In his imagination it went something like this:  
  
"Frankly, Mr. Briefs your son's an idiot."  
"What the hell do you know about idiots, baka!" and then Vegeta  
blowing up his teacher.  
  
Of course this would never happen, but it would probably be close to that. As he kept thinking up new exciting ways for his father to send his teacher to the next dimension, he didn't notice that the subject of his thoughts had entered the room and sat down on the couch behind him.  
  
"What are you doing, boy?" asked Vegeta gruffly. Trunks couldn't help but jump at his father's sudden appearance, which just annoyed Vegeta. "You should always be aware of your surroundings, like a true warrior."  
  
Trunks paused the game and turned around to face his father. "Gomen nasai, Otosan. I just kind of dozed off there for a second."  
  
"Understandable, since you're so enthralled in this digital fantasy world you like to play in." Vegeta said as he eyed the TV screen.  
  
Trunks got the hint. "Do you want to fight me?"  
  
"If you're going to whine about it, I might as well." Vegeta lowered himself from the couch, sat down on the floor next to his only son, and picked up the spare controller. They jabbed at the controllers continuously with utmost concentration written on their faces. To Trunks it was the only time that he had a chance to beat his dad in a fight (however imaginary it was), and to Vegeta it was the only time that he had to try to save face by not letting his son beat him in a fight. They continued their fight until.  
  
"Ha! I win!" cried Vegeta in surprise. His son was a genius at these games.  
  
Trunks just glared at him thinking, 'Great now he's going to gloat about for the whole week.'  
  
Vegeta (who was quite content with his win, and wanted to leave on top) got up and started to walk away, when Trunks stopped him. "Otosan, wait."  
  
Vegeta turned around. "What?" he asked.  
  
Trunks looked down at his feet. "Well, there's this thing. You see, my teacher really wants to talk with you, because she likes to talk to the parents to tell them how their kids are doing in school, and she wants to meet with you tomorrow night?"  
  
Vegeta stared down Trunks as he thought about it. His face remained the same, masking whatever was running through his mind at the time. After a long pause, Vegeta finally answered. "There is no need for me to go."  
  
He turned his back and started walking out of the room. Trunks ran to him and grabbed his arm. "Oh, come on, Otosan, you have to."  
  
Vegeta spun around to face his son. "Why?" he asked. "Why do I have to go, are you going to die, if I don't?"  
  
Trunks' suddenly wished that he had another father. Any other father would have wanted to meet their son's teacher, any other father wouldn't of asked why he had to go, but not his father. His father wanted nothing to do with his life outside of their dinky little apartment. "Please, Otosan, I'll get in trouble if you don't."  
  
Vegeta growled in annoyance as his son held onto his arm, but he did not try to shake him off. "Otosan," came Trunks' small voice, "O-negai shimasu."  
  
Vegeta closed his eyes and shook his head at what he was going to do, and then muttered. "Fine."  
  
A small smile spread across Trunks' face, but he wasn't estatic, he went over to his backpack and came back with a piece of paper and a pen and brought them to his father. "Can you sign a note saying that you'll go." Vegeta roughly grabbed the contents from Trunks' hand, scribbled a note and then gave it back to his son.  
  
"There are you happy now?" he asked roughly. Trunks slightly nodded. "Now get your shoes on, we're going out for supper."  
  
Vegeta grumbled to himself as he flew through the cold night air. He landed in front of Trunks' school and walked towards the entrance. He wore his leatherjacket with the collar flipped up, and he walked briskly towards the dimly lit building. When he walked in, he saw that they were waiting for him. A tall, dark haired lady was standing talking with another, an older white-haired man. She turned when she heard him enter and walked towards him.  
  
"Mr. Briefs, I presume?" she asked and held out a her hand to him to shake hands.  
  
"Hai," he responded and folded his arms over his chest. He looked down at the outstretch hand in front of him, then looked up and glared at her.  
  
"Well.okay," started the very confused teacher, "I'm Aya Wakumoto, Trunks's teacher, and this is Kagami Hashimoto, the principal of this school."  
  
Vegeta just simply nodded at the elder man. Ms. Wakumoto looked rather uneasy around the not-so-friendly parent, but Hashimoto, who had been a teacher for a very long time, was used to this. "Right this way Mr. Briefs, we'll have our discussion in the classroom."  
  
He led them into the very same classroom that Trunks spent 7 hours in every weekday. Vegeta looked around the room in disgust. There were bright, happy colors all over the place, and rather bad hand drawn pictures covering the wall. Vegeta noticed the elementary posters, and thought of just how much below his son's level this was. Perhaps he was wrong to send him to school. He knew his son was intelligent, what with Bulma's genes and all. And it wasn't like he was anything near stupid, either. He wasn't a Kakarot! It probably would have just been best for him to throw his son onto his grandparent's doorstep everyday for education. But they might never give him back.  
  
The two educators sat down behind a desk, and Vegeta took his cue to sit down in the chair that just happened to be sitting directly in front of the desk. Ms. Wakumoto gathered some papers and started shuffling through them. She then looked over towards her boss, ad asked, "Would you like me to start?"  
  
"Please," he replied.  
  
"Well, then, Mr. Briefs, here is your son's grade report," she handed Vegeta a sheet of paper, and he looked over it. "As you see, the first couple of test and projects are exceedingly high, but after that all his homework and in class assignments are rather low. His tests, however remain high. It's easy to see that Trunks's simply stopped putting effort into his work anymore. He's a very bright boy, and his test scores show it, but he refuses to actually do any work."  
  
Vegeta raised an eyebrow in a questioning look. He didn't think he liked where this was going.  
  
"At first I thought he was just cheating off the others, but after I made him take a test on his own, I quickly rejected that thought. Also, I think that Trunks is having some difficulty.err.making friends. He doesn't get along well with his classmates, which I believe is also a factor in his failing grades considering that their dislike for him started not too long after he transferred here."  
  
Vegeta glared at her. "So," he spat. "He's above all this, why don't you put him in a better class, so he doesn't have to be surrounded by all your idiots."  
  
The teacher was shocked and just sat there with her mouth hanging open, not sure what to say. Luckily for her Hashimoto cut in. "Now, Mr. Briefs, we only put our students in our more challenging classes after and only after they are able to prove that they are hard workers and do all their assignments with great effort, and as you can see by that report, Trunks does not show that. Also, there have been some problems with Trunks and discipline."  
  
Vegeta just rolled his eyes. 'Dammit,' he thought to himself, 'I knew this was coming.'  
  
"Now, Trunks's only case of actually physically hurting someone was his first day of school in gym class, but that was dismissed because it was thought to have been an accident. Had he informed you of that incidence?"  
  
"Yes, he did," replied Vegeta. "But if you thought it was an accident, then why did you ban him from the class for the whole week."  
  
"Only for the safety of our students, Mr. Briefs, I assure you," said Hashimoto. "Lately, however, there have been instances, of Trunks bullying kids during school. He often picks up the kids and threatens them. Many of the students are afraid of him, and there have been some occurrences of certain objects being incinerated somehow."  
  
Vegeta was starting to regret coming to this meeting. Apparently his son was more like him, then he originally thought. And how dare these weaklings insult his son, a prince of a warrior race!  
  
Just then, the door opened and in walked a tall lady with long, curly brown hair. Hashimoto looked over to see the woman, and a smile spread across his face. "Ah, Naru, just in time, my dear." She smiled at him and then looked over at Vegeta. "This is Mr. Briefs, Naru. Mr. Briefs, this is Naru, Trunks's counselor."  
  
Vegeta's eyes widened considerably. "Excuse me, did you say counselor?"  
  
Hashimoto smiled. "Yes, I did, because not too long ago, Trunks ended up in my office for probably the third time since he got here, and I told him that I thought it would be good for him to see the school's counselor, and, from what Naru tells me, they have been helpful."  
  
"I don't think me son needs to see a counselor," Vegeta hissed out through clenched teeth .  
  
Naru turned to Vegeta and gave him a warm smile (which just made him want to kill her more). "Most parents think that at first, Mr. Briefs, but it really is good for the kids. From our talks, I have come to learn about your recent loss, and it can be very tough on a child his age. I find our talks helpful and I've asked Kagami, here, if we could perhaps meet more often. He seems to be having such a terrible time in coping."  
  
"Excuse me, woman, but my son does not need to see a shrink!" Vegeta stood up so fast, he knocked his chair over, and he stood in front of the three educators with his eyes blazing and his fists clenched.  
  
"Mr. Briefs," Hashimoto cut in, "there is nothing wrong with this help, and if it weren't for Miss Naru's sessions with your son, I wouldn't of learned of these extenuating circumstances, and I would have asked you to remove your son from the school, but now I see that there's more to this, but if Trunks crosses the line in his bullying, he will be expelled. Good evening, Mr. Briefs, that is all I have to say to you." He stood up and walked briskly out the door, leaving an infuriated Vegeta and two stunned women.  
  
Miss Naru turned back on her cheesy smile. "Mr. Briefs, I can understand your anger, but our sessions are good for Trunks because right now, after such a loss he is really fragile."  
  
"Look here," started Vegeta pointing his finger at her, "You do not tell me what's best for MY son. I don't want you telling me that he needs you, and I do not want him seeing you ever again." Vegeta glared at the woman, then turned his head and stormed out of the classroom and school into the dark night and blasted off towards home.  
  
Vegeta walked into his apartment to find Kotori sitting on his couch, watching the TV. She stood up when she saw him enter and gathered her things. "I put the kids to bed, they were no problem." She walked past him and he started to open his mouth. "No need to thank me," she cut him off, "besides I finished off your ice cream in the freezer." She turned to smile at him in the doorway.  
  
"I wasn't going to thank you, wench, I was just going to tell you to get back on your side of the hall!" Vegeta yelled at here.  
  
"Did anyone ever tell you that you need to learn some manners, Vegeta?" she asked.  
  
Vegeta pretended to act shocked. "Huh! No!," he said sarcastically; then slammed the door in her face.  
  
Vegeta took off his leather jacket and threw it onto the couch. He collapsed onto it, put his hands over his face and sighed in frustration. How had he gotten himself into this? He wasn't cut out to be a single father, and frankly, it was driving him nuts. He got up and walked over to the doorway to Trunks's room. He stood by it looking through the half- opened door, to see the silhouette of his son on his bed. The silhouette stirred, and Trunks sat up and stared at his father.  
  
"You're not asleep?" Vegeta asked, stepping into the room.  
  
"What did they say?" he asked, ignoring his father's question.  
  
Vegeta sat down on the bed next to his son, and sighed. "Why didn't you tell me you were seeing a counselor?" He asked not making eye contact.  
  
"I was hoping they wouldn't tell you that," said Trunks softly and bowed his head in shame. Now his father would really think he was weak.  
  
"They told me a lot, Trunks, and I didn't like to hear it." The words were harsh.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Otosan, it's just that everyone hates me there, and so they made fun of me, and I'd get sick of it and yell at them to stop. It's not like I beat them up or anything," Trunks sniffed.  
  
Vegeta turned to face his son. "Well it's not like I want my son to take criticism like a pansy." Trunks looked up and a small smile graced his lips. "We can talk about this later, go to sleep for now, it's late."  
  
"Otosan, can I stay home from school tomorrow?" asked Trunks innocently.  
  
"Yes," he simply replied. Then he got up and walked towards the hallway, so he could also retire for the evening.  
  
"And what about the day after that?" Trunks called out.  
  
"We'll see," he replied and walked out of the room.  
  
*Well that's all for now. Please review, and I'll try to post another chapter soon, but I can't make any promises. Tell me what you think, and who knows maybe I'll be inspired to sit down a whole day to just write a chapter!* 


	13. Caring

Oh my Pookong and Jesus! I actually am updating! Sorry to all my readers, I had pretty bad writers block. I'd write a page, then get stuck, write another page, then get stuck…But oh man, a year! I suck I know, but here I am with another chapter. Hopefully I didn't lose all my reviewers, but maybe I'll pick up some new ones, and thanks to all those who have kept reviewing through the year respite. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always-review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Dragonball Z characters except for the two foot

Trunks doll on my bed who is mine, ALL MINE! I also don't own red robin's song.

**Vegeta On His Own**

**Chapter 13**

**Caring**

Vegeta rolled out of his bed onto the floor with a loud thump. He blearily opened his eyes at the intrusion of his sleep. He was lying face up on the floor of his room. His dark blue sheets were wrapped tightly around his waist. He only wore a pair of boxers, exposing his entire upper body to the cool morning air. He groaned out loud as he pulled himself up off the floor and freed himself from the constraints of the sheets. He walked over to his bathroom, where he tore off his boxers, turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water.

He let out a frustrated groan as he remembered the cause for the uneasiness of his sleep. He hadn't had nightmares so often for a while. He tilted his head back and let the hot water do its magic as it cascaded down his tired body. He enjoyed the warmth of the shower, seeing as he no longer felt the warmth of another person in his bed with him at night.

He abruptly turned off the water and left the shower and went to throw on some clothes. He then finally opened his closed door and walked the short distance to the kitchen to grab himself something to eat. As he was rummaging through the refrigerator he felt another presence in the room. He stood back up and looked over to see Trunks reclining in the armchair watching some cartoons.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked his son.

"What do mean early, it's almost ten," replied Trunks giving him a strange look.

Vegeta was taken aback and turned to look at the clock on the stove, which clearly read "9:56". 'That's odd,' he thought to himself, 'I'm usually up around six!'

"I was going to wake you up, but I went into your room and you looked just so cute sleeping that I didn't want to disturb you," said Trunks with a smug look on his face while he continued to stare at the television screen.

"Ha, ha," was Vegeta's sarcastic reply as he turned back to his original task of finding some breakfast in which he pulled out a package of bacon and about half a dozen eggs. "Didn't I tell you yesterday that you had to go back to school?" Vegeta questioned his son as he pulled out a frying pan.

"Yeah, but today's Sunday."

"So," Vegeta snapped.

"There's no school on Sunday, Otosan."

"Oh really, since when," challenged Vegeta.

"Since some God wrote on some stone a couple thousand years ago that we shouldn't go to school on Sundays." Trunks stood up and meandered over to his father in the kitchen and greedily eyed the sizzling bacon in the frying pan. "Everyone knows that! What planet did you grow up on?"

"Not this one!" retorted his father.

Trunks face fell. He should know better than to use that stupid phrase on his father because it didn't work with him. He reached his hand out and quickly yanked a piece of bacon off of the frying pan and popped it into his mouth before his father could stop him, and ran back into the living room. Vegeta just shook his head. 'I'll get him next time for that,' he thought to himself and went back to frying his bacon.

As he watched the grease sizzle in the pan, his nightmare that had caused him such an uneasy sleep came back to him. His father had been in it. It had been a long time since he had dreamed about his long-dead father. The details of the dream were hazy, but he could remember his father's stern face and cold glare. He was cursing at him in his native-tongue. He said he no longer had any pride left, he had forgotten his ways.

Vegeta looked down at the pan in his hands. What had he become…a housewife! He was supposed to be a warrior, he was a prince, he should have servants to tend to his every need! 'No,' Vegeta thought to himself, 'I was never really a prince, I knew I'd never have that life when I was taken away by Frieza.'

Vegeta looked over to his son, sitting on the couch, now watching cartoons. What would he have done after Bulma died if he didn't have his children he thought to himself. He probably would have left into outer space. But why didn't he leave, now? He could take his children with him. No, the risk was too great, he probably didn't have the best reputation, and now that he thought about it, he never really liked space to begin with. All those years spent traveling in spaceships, he was easily driven mad by being stuck in space. He took out his aggression and insanity out on weaker species. He no longer got that thrill whenever he beat up a lesser being, he felt it was almost unfair of him to take advantage of the other person.

"What are you thinking about, Otosan?" Trunks was now sitting at the bar and staring at his father with a quizzical look on his face.

"Nothing," muttered Vegeta as he emptied the bacon onto a plate.

"Yeah, right," said Trunks, "You had that 'I'm thinking about something really serious face.'"

"I didn't realize I had such a face," he replied raising one eyebrow at his son.

"Sure you do. Okasan taught me how to read all your faces." He smiled proudly as he started to scarf down the bacon.

Vegeta took his plate of bacon and sat next to Trunks at the counter. "Otosan," started Trunks, "You're making that face again…"

"Will you shut up, Trunks!" Vegeta snapped at his annoying son, Trunks jumped off the chair and skipped away to his room. Vegeta groaned and rested his head in his hands. His thoughts drifted back to his uneasy sleep the night before. His past had been coming back to haunt him at night. He hadn't realized before just how much of an affect sleeping with Bulma had on his occurring nightmares. But, now with only himself in his room his sleep had rarely been peaceful. His father came to him every night, telling him how ashamed he was of him. The Prince of all Saiyans reduced to a common housewife. And it was true, Vegeta was now only a common housewife. He was supposed to be a warrior, and with Bulma around he still held some pride. He had married into one of the richest families on the planet, so he lived like a prince. He would train all day, like a warrior should, he was fed, housed, clothed by the Briefs. They made him his training equipment and fixed it when needed. What did he have now? Vegeta raised his head off his hands and looked around the interior of his new "home". A dinky little apartment, where he has to cook measly suppers, clean, and spend the majority of his day looking after an infant and a reckless pre-teen. Yes life had changed. Bulma was fine with being the one to look after the kids while Vegeta trained, sure she'd bitch about it every now and then, but she wanted to be with her children.

"My life is an absolute mess," Vegeta mumbled to himself before he commenced eating and ending his deep thought session. And what a mess it was…

The next day found Vegeta playing housewife again as he looked through cooking books for a decent meal to learn how to make. He was currently reading up on how to make a good pork roast, while he sat holding Bra with one hand and gently bouncing her up and down on one of his knees. "I must look like such an idiot right now," he said to himself.

"Na, I think you look cute." Vegeta spun around to see a stupidly grinning Goku standing in his living room.

"Goddamn it, Kakarot! Just because you can do instant transmission doesn't mean you have the right to just pop up in people's houses without notice! And why does everyone insist on calling me 'cute'!"

"Awww, come on Vegeta, we only do it because we know that it annoys you." Goku replied rubbing the back of his head like he always does.

Vegeta slammed the cookbook before he could be ridiculed more, and stood and walked over to Bra's playpen where he set her down. He then turned towards "Kakarot", folded his arms across his chest and glared at him. "So, why'd you come here?"

"Well, Vegeta, I was wondering if you wanted to join me in a tea party?" said Goku, winking at him playfully.

Vegeta twitched at Goku's wink and balled his hands into fists. "Fuck you, Kakarot, just because I have to work around my house now, does not give you the right to challenge my masculinity!"

"Woa, calm down, Vegeta I was only joking. I just wanted to see if you were up for a spar. I think you really need one too, you look a little tense."

Vegeta hmphed and folded his arms back together. "Fine, let's just get this over with." With that Vegeta smirked and flew at Goku aiming a punch.

"Jeez, Vegeta, I didn't mean in your apartment!"

Vegeta and Goku had eventually moved to a field not too far from Vegeta's place. And now Bra lay on a blanket in the grass watching the two saiyans duke it out. Vegeta was angrily throwing punch after punch at Goku who was easily reflecting them.

"Wow, Vegeta, you've really fallen out of shape," said Goku, half laughing as he continued to block all of Vegeta's attacks, "…for you that is," he quickly added in.

"Well you try to keep up in your training without that harpy of yours around and taking care of an infant!" Vegeta replied angrily while continuing to throw punches at his adversary and finally finishing with a particularly nasty uppercut to his jaw.

"Sheesh, Vegeta you're really stressed, aren't you?" asked Goku as he pulled away for a minute to massage his aching jaw.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," replied Vegeta using a phrase he had heard Trunks say before.

"Wow, you must really be losing it, Vegeta. My name is Kakarot, remember?" Goku said with a serious look on his face. Vegeta just shook his head and then charged the naive saiyan. "Why don't you get help?" said Goku resuming the conversation.

"From who, Kakarot?"

"You know who, Vegeta."

"They already made it clear, that I would not be receiving help from them," Vegeta downcast his eyes. He had already had this conversation many times in his head.

"They were still in shock, Vegeta! I'm sure that if you go to them, they will help you with whatever you need. They care about the kids, and they care about you, too. Granted, I've been dead for seven of the past ten years, but it seemed like you got along with them well." Goku pleaded to his friend, yet Vegeta refused eye contact.

"Yea, we did," he replied gruffly, "but that was before they blamed _me_ for her death!"

"Oh, come on, Vegeta. Just swallow your pride for once and ask for help. Do it for your kids, they really need it." The two pulled apart from their fight and eyed eachother.

"I'm not making any promises, Kakarot." Vegeta smirked and sent a halfhearted big bang attack towards Goku. Goku just smiled. In Vegeta language it meant a definite yes. He casually knocked the ki blast aside. The two had a friendly stare down until Vegeta's face suddenly dropped as he saw where the ki blast was heading. He shot through the air and threw himself in front of his own blast just in time and was able to absorb the impact in a shield.

"For god's sake, Kakarot, do not deflect ki blasts towards the baby!" He yelled as he stood centimeters in front of his daughter in singed clothes.

"Oops," was all Goku said as he sheepishly grinned and his hand retreated to behind his head.

Trunks and Goten were meandering back home from school together. And for these two, meandering meant crossing the street repeatedly between passing cars and randomly walking up the sides of trees to the disbelief of onlookers. Trunks had his hands in his pockets and walked ahead, as Goten tried to keep up with his friend.

"Do you think he'll even remember, Trunks," asked Goten innocently, not realizing that his curiosity was going to get him in trouble.

"What's that supposed to mean, Goten?" asked Trunks as he quickly stopped and spun around to glare at his friend.

"I don't know, it's just that it seems like he doesn't seem into those kind of things and wouldn't pay attention." Goten shrugged his shoulders as he tried to explain his cause to worry.

"He's my dad, Goten. Dads always remember that kind of stuff. Besides, he's never forgotten before." Trunks reasoned as he resumed walking.

"But before, your mom was always around Trunks, she probably reminded him."

"He'll remember, okay!" yelled Trunks at Goten. He then added more softly, "I know he will."

"Are you trying to convince me, Trunks, or are you trying to convince yourself?" That definitely hit a sore spot.

"My dad's not bad, Goten!" snapped Trunks.

"I'm not saying he is, Trunks, I just don't want you to be hurt if he forgets," pleaded Goten, trying desperately for his friend to see his side-it didn't work.

"SHUT UP!" Trunks spun around and punched Goten directly in the face, sending him flying backwards. He then powered up to super saiyan and charged after Goten. He was filled with a blind rage, a characteristic he had inherited from his father. He wanted so badly to get rid of all his pent up frustration, and sadly-it was his best friend who was his easiest target at the moment.

Vegeta and Goku had just finished up their training session. None of them very beaten up, since it had pretty much only been a light spar. Vegeta had just put Bra away in her crib for her afternoon nap, and was rejoining Goku in his living room when he felt his son's spike in energy. He stopped suddenly. It wasn't like Trunks to have his power that high unless he was training. Both him and Goku felt Trunks ki mature to the super saiyan level, and as Goku felt his youngest son's ki drop, his eyes grew wide at what might be going on. Vegeta, wasting no time, quickly strode over to the other saiyan and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Go," he said.

The two instant transmissioned to a park nearby Vegeta's apartment where they were met with a horrible sight. Trunks was in super saiyan mercilessly beating an unpowered up Goten who was whimpering at his friend to stop, and trying hopelessly to defend himself against his rage-filled friend. Vegeta latched onto his son and put his arms around him in order to pull him off of Goten. Goku ran over to his son and gently pulled him out of the ways of Trunks' flailing arms.

"Power down, Trunks!" Vegeta yelled at his son as he tried to keep a hold on him, he didn't want to have to go into super saiyan too, in order to subdue his son, but if Trunks didn't calm down soon, he might have to.

"Power down!" he yelled again, this time roughly shaking his son as he had his arms locked around the boys waist. Trunks finally got the message and did as his father told. He still was staring at Goten with pure hate in his eyes and was breathing fast at his sudden rage.

Vegeta looked over to see Goku kneeling next to his injured son. He was horrified when he saw all the damage that Trunks had inflicted upon Goten in such a short time. "Get him a senzu bean," he muttered to Goku. Goku just looked over at the two, not sure what to do our say. He gently picked up his son and vanished into thin air.

Vegeta finally let go of Trunks and Trunks fell forward onto the grass on all fours. Trunks stayed there panting and slowly his breathing started to calm down and the thought of what he had just done started to dawn on him.

"What the hell was that all about," spat Vegeta eyeing his crouching son in front of him. This had never happened before. Trunks had never so freely beat up on someone-and his best friend of all people. And now that Vegeta started thinking about it, it had all started recently. His hurting the girl in gym, his bullying of the kids on the playground. He was getting out of control.

Trunks's breathing suddenly changed into uneven sobs as he shut his eyes tightly and tried to fight back the tears threatening to come. He started punching the ground with his fists. "Why did I do that?" he started whispering to himself. He kept repeating it louder and louder. "Why'd I do that? Why'd I do that? WHY DID I DO THAT!" He let out the last one in a frustrated scream and then hung his head and sobbed.

Vegeta just stood there in shock at all the emotions on his son's face. This wasn't right. He needed help, he couldn't become…like him. He bent down and grabbed Trunks's arm. "Let's go home," he tried to make his voice as soft as he could. He pulled on his son's arm, and Trunks complied and rose up next to his father. His head was still bent down in shame, with his bangs hanging in front, hiding his tear-streaked face. Vegeta loosened up his hold on Trunks's arm and ran his hand down in order to hold his hand. He turned, and the two of them flew off back to their home.

They landed outside on their balcony, and Vegeta let go of Trunks's hand, and walked over to the screen door and pulled it open. He stepped aside to let his son go through first, and then followed him inside and closed the door behind him. Trunks walked into their living room and lay down on the couch and buried his face in the pillow. Vegeta stayed next to the door and watched his son's small body wracked with sobs on the couch. His face was sullen as he watched him. He didn't know what to do, he didn't even know what happened. He'd start there, he'd find out what happened to make his son act that way. He walked over and sat at the end of the sofa next to Trunks's feet.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Trunks sniffed and raised his head out of the pillow and tried to control himself. "We got in a stupid fight." He said it softly, and if Vegeta wasn't a saiyan, he probably wouldn't have heard him.

"What was it about?" he asked on.

"It was just stupid!" replied Trunks. "There was no reason for me to attack him. He'll never wanna be my friend again! He'll hate me forever! He was my only friend I've ever had and ever could have and I ruined it!" Vegeta looked on at Trunks sadly. God he wished Bulma were here. He wasn't very good at this. But Bulma wasn't there. She wouldn't be there again. He had to be the parent.

"Sometimes we do stupid things," he started. Trunks had stopped crying to listen to him. "But I don't think you'll lose a friend for it. You and Goten share too much. You're alike in race and you have been through so much together. Goten will forgive you, it's in his nature. And unfortunately it's in your nature to lose your temper and use violence, and for that, I apologize."

Trunks turned around and looked at Vegeta. He wiped his face clean with his sleeve. He then leaned over and hugged his father. Vegeta stiffened, still awkward with the contact. "Thank you," said Trunks.

Vegeta looked down at him with a quizzical look. "For what?" he asked.

"For trying," replied Trunks. A smile tugged at Vegeta's lips and he relaxed and put his arms around his son in return. They sat there for a while, until Trunks stomach let out a growl. Trunks chuckled and looked up at his father. "I guess I'm hungry." He said sheepishly.

Vegeta freed himself from his son and stood up. "Then clean up, cause we're going out to dinner tonight." Trunks smiled and left towards his bedroom.

They sat in the restaurant with plates stacked around them. They were each finishing up their last plate. Trunks was smiling. It wasn't very often that Vegeta took them to a real restaurant because it cost so much and always caused double takes in how much they were eating. Vegeta had his usual façade on as he finished his food. He was lost in thought, about the events today and the current state of himself and his family. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed all the restaurants waiters walking towards them and he smirked a little.

Trunks heard some clapping and singing of a familiar song start. He looked down at his place, and his eyes threatened to tear, until he realized that the group of waiters had surrounded their table. He looked up to see them all staring at him and smiling as they sang:

"Happy Birthday, Happy happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, hey! Do we have a birthday here? Yes we have a birthday here! Birthday here, Birthday here! Oooh!

Happy Birthday, Happy happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, hey!"

Trunks looked across the table to see his father smirking at him. The waiters stopped singing. And one of them placed a chocolate sundae in front of him. "And what's your name little guy," asked a waitress.

"Trunks," he replied sheepishly.

"And how old are you?" she asked again.

"Eleven."

"Alright, everybody give a round of applause for Trunks on his eleventh birthday!" Everybody in the restaurant applauded and Trunks's face turned red from having everybody's eyes on him.

The group walked off and Vegeta gave them a nod in thanks. Trunks stared at his father in disbelief with his face absolutely beaming. Vegeta just continued to smirk, and then leaned over and pulled something out of Bra's diaper bag. He pulled out a small rectangular shaped package. Trunks took it and smiled at the newspaper used for wrapping and the all the tape holding it in place. Apparently his mother had always wrapped the packages in his family. He looked up towards his father. "You remembered," he said quietly.

"Of course I did, I couldn't forget my own son's birthday, could I?" He motioned to the package and Trunks ripped it open. Inside was a video game he had been wanting for awhile, but that didn't matter, what mattered was that his father had remembered his birthday, and he cared about him enough to take him out to eat, have the waiters sing to him and give him a present. What mattered was that he cared.

Awww, I know it's sappy, but hey, you need a little sappiness ever now and then. So I'll be honest, I don't know how long it'll take to get the next chapter out, but I'll try to be good and work on it whenever I have time. Until then review and update your own stories, because that's what inspires me to write mine. TTFN


End file.
